The Price of Love
by StrawberryPajamas
Summary: When Christian meets a beautiful girl who's not in the BDSM lifestyle, he makes the decision to give it up to pursue a real relationship with her. But that sacrifice may come with a price… namely, his entire billion dollar fortune and his and Ana's own safety. The decision he makes will likely affect both their lives forever, but will he have the strength to do it?
1. First Dates

**A/N: Hi everyone - I'm back! Thank you all for your kindness and patience, and I hope you enjoy this new story from yours truly.**

 **Summary: When Christian meets a beautiful girl who's not in the BDSM lifestyle, he makes the decision to give it up to pursue a real relationship with her. But that sacrifice may come with a price… namely, his entire billion dollar fortune and his and Ana's own safety. The decision he makes will likely affect both their lives forever, but will he have the strength to do it?**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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 **The Price of Love**

 **By Strawberry Pajamas**

 **Chapter 1: First Dates**

Canlis was bustling tonight.

The beautiful, dimly-lit restaurant rarely saw a slow night, but Christian thought that a Wednesday in the middle of a work week would have shown at least a small slump in the nightly crowd. However, the place was completely packed this evening - Christian could see a line of finely dressed people lining up outside the doors and a decent sized crowd hanging around the bar, chatting with one another as they waited to be seated. Christian couldn't help but feel grateful he was able to secure a table for himself and a fellow businessman who he was meant to have dinner with tonight. However, unless his companion ever felt like getting here, Christian was likely going to end up dining alone.

Christian sipped on his glass of whiskey and discreetly checked his watch. Marquez was over fifteen minutes late now, and Christian was not a man who tolerated lateness. This particular man he had spoken to a few times already - the two of them were going to be collaborating on a large donation to the natural science department at Seattle University, and this dinner was just going to be the two of them hashing out specifics. While Christian's company was perfectly capable of giving a sizable donation to the university by itself, collaborating donations was a common practice amongst larger companies like GEH to help with future business ventures. It was all very bureaucratic, but it was something Christian often had to put up with as the CEO of his company.

Christian's BlackBerry buzzed with an incoming text, and he immediately checked it, expecting it was Marquez letting him know he had arrived. It wasn't him, however - it was Elena, texting him for the umpteenth time this week that she had a few new submissives lined up for him to interview. Christian rolled his eyes to himself as he tucked his phone back in his suit pocket, ignoring Elena's message. It was inappropriate for him to answer a text like that during a business meeting anyway, but honestly he was just starting to feel annoyed by her persistence - he didn't have time at the moment for a new sub, but the less interested he was in getting one, the more Elena seemed to push. It was really starting to piss him off.

"'Good evening Grey."

Christian glanced up when he heard his name, and stood from his table to greet the gentleman now approaching him. Javier Marquez, an older Hispanic man with a receding hairline, was the CFO of Marquez Advisors, a wildlife conservation advisory corporation located right outside Seattle.

"Marquez," Christian smiled and shook the man's hand before they both took a seat down at opposite sides of the table. Marquez was, if possible, more aloof of a businessman than Christian, and Christian could tell this guy's lateness was a tactic he often employed with fellow businessmen to show his authority. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Sorry I'm late," Marquez said idly, straightening his suit jacket lapels before reaching over to pick up the wine list. "Did you order already?"

"Not yet. I just got a drink at the bar," Christian said, indicating the half-drunk glass of whiskey on the rocks beside his plate. "The waitress hasn't come over yet."

Considering how busy this place was tonight, Christian was surprised that anyone was able to get served this evening. However, when he saw a waitress leading a group of people to a nearby table, he caught her eye and lifted his hand, indicating he was ready to order. She nodded in acknowledgement of him before continuing to lead the group of people off to an empty table.

"They have _Chateau Margeaux_ here - an excellent vintage," Marquez said approvingly as he looked over the wines, and Christian voiced his approval as well, privately wishing he could go back to Escala right now and get some work done.

"Has it been busy over at the office today?" Christian asked conversationally, bringing his glass of whiskey to his lips and taking a sip. "I heard the news about Chevron raising oil prices again, I figured it might have had some impact on your company."

"Ah yes it has," Marquez nodded sagely. "It's a bit of a mixed bag though - while I understand Chevron's purpose in doing this, they know the outcome isn't going to fare well with us wildlife conservation folks…"

For several minutes, the two of them continued to talk about the state of the economy, and as they did a few other groups of people walked by their table. Christian glanced up to see a family of four pass by with a waiter, but after the family walked a young woman who immediately caught Christian's eye:

She was walking alongside a young man with dark hair, and they were being led by a waitress to a small, two-person table right next to where Christian and Marquez sat. The two of them were obviously out on a date, but the moment Christian's eyes landed on the girl, he was immediately struck dumb by the angelic beauty before him.

She wore a knee-length teal dress that hung delicately around her luscious long legs, and her dark, chestnut brown hair fell in waves over her slim shoulders and down her back. Her beautiful skin was flawlessly pale and smooth, contrasted by the long dark lashes and cobalt blue eyes that adorned her pixie-like face. She was absolutely stunning, and if she wasn't currently on a date Christian definitely would have considered going over to introduce himself.

The young man spoke to the pretty girl as they took their seats: "I'm glad I managed to get us a reservation. I don't think we'd be able to get in otherwise."

"Yeah, it is pretty busy tonight," the girl agreed with a smile, glancing around the restaurant. She had a soft, sweet voice that made Christian's chest constrict with a feeling he was unfamiliar with, but he enjoyed immensely all the same.

 _Who is this girl?_

She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear before her wandering eyes met Christian's gaze. Her ocean blue eyes seemed to pierce right into his heart, and Christian could do little more than stare back at her, his heart beating frenetically in his chest.

 _Jesus Christ, she's beautiful._

She blinked and looked away after a moment, and Christian turned back to his conversation with Marquez, trying to regulate his pounding heartbeat.

The waitress finally came over to their table, and Christian and Marquez ordered their food, Marquez also ordering a vintage bottle of wine for the both of them to share. Afterwards, he and Christian began to discuss the stock market, though Christian's focus kept drifting to the table beside them - he listened discreetly as the girl and guy ordered their food and began conversing with one another. From what Christian could tell, the two of them were co-workers who were going on a first date tonight - a noteworthy fact that made Christian oddly happy.

Eventually, Christian and Marquez got their food, and, as expected, their conversation turned to their collaborating donation to the university. Christian knew he needed to focus since it involved their company's money, but he still couldn't help but let his mind drift to the girl next to him every few minutes. While he knew it wasn't right to eavesdrop on their date, he couldn't help but notice (rather optimistically) that her date with the dark-haired guy didn't seem to be going very well. The guy kept stumbling over his words and talking about himself, not bothering to ask the girl any questions about herself. A rookie move, even Christian knew… once their food arrived, there was a rather painful few minutes where neither of them said anything to each other as they ate, and Christian couldn't help but feel a bit smug.

He didn't like the idea of this beautiful angel going out with somebody else - somebody who wasn't him.

 _God, what is wrong with me?_

"…Oh, I'm sorry," Marquez suddenly apologized, pulling out his vibrating BlackBerry and checking the screen. "I have to take this - I'll just be a minute."

He didn't wait for Christian to respond as he got up from the table and brought the phone to his ear, but Christian didn't care. As soon as Marquez was gone, he casually leaned back in his seat, crossing his ankle over his knee as he checked his phone, surreptitiously listening to the conversation beside him once again.

"So how's the scampi?" The guy asked.

"Very good," she answered, her fork clinking against her plate as she picked at her food. "How's your steak?"

"Delicious."

Another short silence followed.

"…I hear it's supposed to rain later tonight," he said after a moment. "Think it's gonna thunderstorm out again?"

Christian inwardly cringed - even _he_ knew asking about the weather on a first date was a bad move.

"I don't know," the girl answered politely, still picking at her food. "I guess we'll see."

At that moment Marquez returned to his and Christian's table, his phone call over.

"I'm sorry, that was my business partner," he said apologetically, sitting back down in his seat. "Something came up over at my company - can I take a rain check on this dinner?"

"Of course," Christian said courteously, and they both stood up again. "If you prefer, we could do it over teleconference later this week sometime?"

Marquez agreed that was a better idea, and after dropping a couple fifties on the table and shaking Christian's hand in a gesture of professionalism, he turned around and left. Christian watched him go, secretly relieved.

After sitting back down at the table, Christian flagged down a waitress and ordered one more whiskey on the rocks. Honestly, if he hadn't had his eyes set on the beautiful brunette girl sitting at the table beside him, he would have considered this whole evening a waste. He discreetly listened to the conversation at the table beside him, just as he had been doing all throughout dinner:

"Um… I need to go to the bathroom," the guy said after a minute or so of awkward silence, scooting his chair back and getting to his feet. "I'll, uh… be right back."

The girl didn't say anything as he walked away, but once he was out of sight Christian saw her set her fork down and lean back slightly in her seat, closing her eyes and letting out a sigh, her frustration with this dinner apparent. Despite her frustration, she still looked positively gorgeous, and Christian didn't want to pass up this opportunity to finally get a chance to talk to her.

He cast his mind around for something he could say to her, and when his eyes landed on the full bottle of wine on the table, an idea formed in his mind. He smiled.

"…Excuse me, Miss?" Christian asked her politely, and the girl blinked open her eyes before looking over at him.

"Yes?" she asked, looking at him with a slight furrow in her brow.

Christian smiled charmingly, gesturing toward the guy's empty seat. "I'm sorry for intruding, but I saw you were with a man earlier. Are you two on a date tonight?"

"Oh… yes, we are," she said, glancing toward her companion's empty seat. "He just ran to the bathroom for minute."

Christian nodded. "I see. Well, I don't know if you saw who I was with, but there was a man dining with me a moment ago. A colleague of mine… but unfortunately, he just got called away on a work emergency and he had to leave."

"Oh, I'm sorry," the girl said sympathetically, and Christian smiled at her again.

"It's quite alright. However, since he's gone, I'm left here with a full bottle of vintage wine I won't be able to drink," Christian reached over and picked up the bottle of _Chateau Margeaux._ "Would you and your date like to take it off my hands? I'm sure the two of you would enjoy it much more than I would by myself."

"Oh," the girl looked flattered by his offer. Another unreadable emotion flashed across her face before she blinked and quickly smiled at him. "Thank you. That's very kind of you, Mr…?"

"Grey - Christian Grey. And it's my pleasure, Miss…?"

"Steele," the girl said with a pleasant smile. "Anastasia Steele."

 _Beautiful._ "Anastasia - that's a lovely name," Christian complimented her, and she blushed cutely.

"Thank you," she giggled. "I normally don't go by Anastasia, though - just Ana."

"It's still beautiful," Christian insisted, picking up the bottle and casually walking over to her table. "May I?" he asked, gesturing to her empty wine glass.

"Of course," Ana said as Christian opened the bottle and poured a small amount into her glass. She picked up the wine glass in her delicate hand and sifted it around a little before bringing it up to her beautiful, rose-colored lips, taking a sip. Christian watched her, completely entranced.

 _Holy Christ, how can one woman be this beautiful?_

"This is delicious," Ana smiled, her beautiful blue eyes twinkling with sincerity. After a moment, however, her smile faded into an unreadable expression, and she glanced away from Christian.

 _Oh no, what's wrong?_

"Is everything alright?" he asked gently, sitting down in the vacated seat, still gazing at her.

"It's very kind of you to offer us your bottle of wine, Christian," Ana said sincerely, looking back up at him. "But it's too much…"

"No, it's not," Christian insisted. "I want you to have it."

"No - I think you should give it to one of these other couples," Ana went on, gesturing rather glumly to the tables around them. "You don't want to waste this expensive bottle of wine on us."

The sad, self-deprecating tone to her voice made Christian's heart break slightly. Strange how this woman could make him feel almost human.

"Are you not enjoying yourself?" he asked sympathetically. Ana stared at him for a moment or two before blinking and looking down at the table, giving a humorless chuckle.

"I sound like a terrible person," she said softly, shaking her head. "Paul has been trying to go out a date with me for years - I work with him, and so I know him well enough to know he and I don't have any chemistry together. I only agreed to go out with him tonight because I just got a new job and I put in my two weeks notice, so I'll probably never have to see him again." Ana sighed sadly. "Tonight was a mistake, that's all."

After a moment she looked back up at Christian, who was gazing at her with a small furrow in his brow. "…Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked after a moment, frowning slightly.

Christian shook his head, still gazing at her with an unreadable expression. "I'm just curious as to why a woman as beautiful as yourself feels she has no choice but to settle for a date with some guy she works with?"

Ana blinked, clearly taken aback at his sweet words. She stared at him, her clear blue eyes baring into his soul, and he stared back at her, feeling a powerful, unreadable emotion filling his chest.

Before he could say anything else, however, Ana glanced at something over his shoulder. Her beautiful face morphed into an appalled expression.

"Oh my God."

Christian turned in his seat to see what Ana was looking at. Toward the back of the restaurant was a long, softly-lit bar area where many people were milling around, drinking expensive drinks and talking with one another. Christian's eyes immediately landed on one person in particular - Paul was standing off to the side of the bar, chatting with a pretty blonde girl in a low-cut dress, sipping on a glass of white wine. They were both smiling and laughing rather flirtatiously, and Christian had a hard time holding back his glee when he noticed them.

"Unbelievable," Ana grumbled, and Christian turned to see her getting to her feet and grabbing her purse with an angry glower on her pretty face. "I'm sorry, Christian, but I don't think we'll be able to take that bottle of wine off your hands after all."

And with that, she hitched her purse up over her shoulder and grabbed her coat, turning on her heel and stalking away toward the door without another word.

Christian was frozen to his seat, watching Ana walk away with his eyes wide. After a moment, however, he quickly got to his feet, resolved to what he wanted to do - he hurried back to his table, grabbing his wallet, keys and cell phone. After dropping a one hundred dollar bill on the table, he briefly glanced back at Paul, who was still occupied with the blonde, before turning and hurrying after Ana out the door.

He wasn't sure what it was about this girl, but he was determined to go after her and give her a first date she would never forget.

 _To Be Continued_

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 **A/N: Hope you all enjoyed this first chapter! If you did, please leave me a review :)**

 **I made a new Pinterest board for this story - you can check it out here at www dot pinterest dot com/strawpaj/the-price-of-love/**


	2. Date Night

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! I really appreciate it.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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 **Chapter 2: Date Night**

 **APOV**

Ana stalked across the restaurant, the intense anger she felt toward Paul still coursing through her body. Tonight had been a big mistake, and she dearly wished she would have just said no to Paul's offer to take her out on a date tonight. He had asked her a million times before while she worked for his brother at the hardware store, and now that she was leaving after finally getting the publishing house job she'd always dreamed of, she decided she would finally just throw Paul a bone and give him the date he'd always wanted from her.

She should have realized how stupid that idea was. Now she had to deal with being embarrassed in the middle of one of the nicest restaurants in Seattle - honestly, was it even worth it?

Ana walked out onto the sidewalk in the cool Seattle evening, the late night traffic of the city greeting her as soon as she stepped out. The valet walked toward her, expecting her to hand him a ticket, and that's when she remembered that she drove here with Paul in his car.

 _Shit._

"I'm sorry - I drove in with someone else," Ana said apologetically to the valet. "You don't happen to have the number of a cab company I could call, do you? Or maybe I could get an Uber…?"

"We have several taxis on standby, ma'am," the man said politely. "I'll call one for you."

"Thank you so much."

As the valet walked away, Ana moved over and stood on the edge of the curb, a cool late night breeze blowing across her bare skin, causing her to shiver slightly. She set down her purse and slipped her coat on, trying to stave off the cold and calm her still-pounding heartbeat.

"Ana?"

Ana turned around at the sound of her name to see Christian Grey stepping out of the restaurant's front doors, his piercing gray eyes landing on her and seeming to gaze right into her soul. The man was almost unbelievably attractive, with his fine tailored suit and chiseled jaw and copper-colored hair… Ana couldn't understand why he would even look in her direction, let alone follow her out of the restaurant. She wasn't sure if she should feel flattered or embarrassed by his interest in her, but her cheeks flushed pink nonetheless.

"Hi," Ana said as he walked over to her.

"Hi," he smiled, his eyes sweeping over her body before meeting her eyes again. "Are you alright? You left so suddenly, I didn't get a chance to ask you."

"Yeah, I'm alright. I'm sorry for leaving like that," Ana said, glancing toward the doors. "I just didn't want to be in there anymore, that's all."

"I understand," Christian said kindly. "Your date was hitting on another girl at the bar - if that isn't a good reason to storm out of a restaurant, I don't know what is."

Ana gave a reluctant giggle. "Well, thank you for understanding."

Christian grinned widely, and Ana couldn't help but think he looked utterly adorable when he did that. "You're very welcome. I actually came out here to ask you if you'd like a ride back home? Wherever you're going, I'm sure my driver could accommodate you."

He gestured to somebody standing nearby, and Ana finally noticed a gentleman with a buzzcut standing several feet away from them, his face impassive. She vaguely wondered just how rich Christian was that he actually had his own personal driver.

"That's alright - the valet is calling me a cab," Ana brushed off politely. "But thank you for offering."

"You don't have to pay to take a cab," Christian said insistently. "Taylor can take you anywhere you need to go - it really isn't an inconvenience, I assure you."

Ana glanced between Christian and Taylor, still hesitant. "And what will you do?"

Christian looked confused. "Me?"

"Yeah - if I'm getting a ride with your guy Taylor, how are _you_ going to get home?"

"I'll go with you," Christian said, but he seemed to realize how that sounded, and quickly amended: "I-I mean, we'll ride together… in the same car, to our own separate homes. We'll be carpooling, in a sense… if that's alright with you?"

Ana couldn't help but smile amusedly, enjoying watching this unbelievably gorgeous man anxiously stumbling over his words. Normally, she would be a bit wary about accepting rides from strangers, but the fact that Christian had a professional driver taking them both home made her feel a bit better. Also, there was just something about Christian she couldn't help but trust implicitly.

 _Am I going insane?_

"I live near the Pike Market District," Ana finally turned to the guy named Taylor after a moment. "Is that too far out of the way?"

"Not at all, ma'am," Taylor smiled politely, and Ana nodded.

"Then I would definitely appreciate a ride," Ana said, turning back to Christian with a smile. "Thank you, Christian."

Christian grinned brightly. "You're very welcome, Ana."

Taylor went off to fetch the car, and by the time Ana had informed the valet she didn't need the cab anymore, he had pulled up to the curb in a shiny black Audi that made passers-by stare. Without a word, Christian politely stepped forward and opened the backdoor for Ana to get in first, and she smiled before moving forward and sliding into the backseat of the luxury vehicle.

Christian slid in beside her, and no sooner had he slammed the car door behind him when Ana's cell phone began to ring with an incoming call. Knowing who it was, she reluctantly answered:

"Hello?"

"Ana, where are you?" Paul's voice sounded worried. "Your coat is gone from your seat - did you leave the restaurant?"

"Yes I did, Paul," Ana said his name in a clipped voice, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Christian turn to look at her. "And don't worry about driving me home - I found a ride."

"What the hell, Ana?" Paul spit out after a moment, his voice somewhere between pissed and hurt. "We were on a _date_ \- you can't just bail like that!"

"That may be, but it looked like you were having a much better time with the blonde at the bar, so I didn't want to intrude," Ana said coldly. She heard Christian chuckle from beside him.

There was a short silence on the other end. "Oh… you saw that?" he mumbled.

"Yes, I saw that," Ana bit out angrily. "And since our so-called date was a total sham anyways, I didn't see the need to continue it any longer."

"Ana, it's not what you think," Paul said, almost desperately. "That blonde woman at the bar - her name's Carrie and she and I went to high school together. We just happened to run into each other and we started talking about old times. That's it, I swear…"

"Goodbye Paul," Ana said firmly, and without listening to anymore of his protests, she hung up on him. There was a heavy silence in the car after she did, and neither she nor Christian said anything as Taylor drove them down the busy street.

"You did the right thing," Christian said after a moment, and Ana looked over at him. "That guy was a jerk."

"I know - but at least now he knows nothing's ever going to happen between us," Ana sighed, and she turned to gaze out the car window, watching the city lights as they passed by. "A perfect ending to a perfect night," she muttered to herself sarcastically.

There was a short silence. "It doesn't have to be," Christian said after a moment, and Ana turned to look at him. "The end of the night, I mean. You obviously aren't having the best time tonight, and to be honest, I was having a pretty miserable evening too… until I made your acquaintance, that is." He smiled at her, and Ana felt her heartbeat pound in her chest. "Now that you're here, though, I really don't want this night to end."

Ana blinked, gazing at him. "And how exactly would you suggest we prolong it?" she asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow at him.

Christian smirked devilishly, giving her a look that spoke volumes while making her heart pound with desire. "Oh, there are _many_ ways to prolong an evening Ms. Steele... but what I had in mind is that I could perhaps take you out for dessert? Considering you and I had already eaten dinner back at the restaurant, I think having dessert would be an appropriate continuation of our evening. And I do know of a lovely gelato bar located in the Pike Market that's very good."

Ana couldn't help but smile - the idea of spending the rest of her evening with Christian sounded lovely, more than she wanted to admit to herself. "Do you really think it's appropriate to ask out a woman who's technically still supposed to be out on a date with another man?" she couldn't help but ask with a teasing smile.

"No less appropriate than said woman accepting a ride from a man who she's not technically supposed to be out on a date with tonight," Christian shot right back. Ana giggled, and he smiled back. "So is that a yes?" he asked hopefully.

Ana bit her lip before nodding. "Yes, I'd love to have dessert with you Christian."

Christian beamed at her, looking genuinely pleased by her answer. "I'm glad."

Taylor continued to drive them through the busy Seattle streets toward the Pike Market, and pretty soon they arrived at _Antoine's_ , a cute little artisan gelato shop located on a busy street corner of the Market. Christian politely stepped out of the car first before holding out his hand and helping Ana out of her seat and onto the sidewalk. As he did so, however, Ana's cell phone began to chime with an incoming text.

"Please tell me that's not Paul again," Christian frowned when Ana checked her screen.

"No - it's my roommate Kate," Ana said. "She promised to text me at some point during my date tonight in case I wanted to make up an excuse to bail."

Christian smirked, looking amused. "Well, you can let her know it's already taken care of."

Ana giggled as she opened Kate's text:

 **Kate:** _Hey girl - how's your date with Paul going? Need an out yet?_

 **Ana:** _Not anymore - you'll never believe what happened! I'll tell you later._

Ana put her phone away before she could read Kate's reply, and instead focused on Christian who smiled at her before offering her his hand and escorting them through the front doors of the ice cream shop.

The place was very cozy and inviting, with wood-accented counters, tables and chairs as well as some upbeat music playing over the speakers. The place was reasonably crowded, but thankfully the line at the counter was short, and Ana and Christian were able to go up and order their gelato right away.

"I think I'll try the peach gelato," Ana said to the cashier, gazing at the chalkboard menu before glancing over at Christian. "What about you?"

"I'm going with chocolate," Christian said, glancing over at Ana with a small smile on his face. Before Ana could offer to pay for her own dessert, however, Christian smoothly pulled out his black AmEx from his suit wallet and handed it over to the cashier to pay for both.

"You didn't have to do that," Ana said with reproach as the woman behind the counter handed them their small paper cups of gelato. "I'm perfectly capable of paying for ice cream myself."

"It's no problem. Consider it my treat," Christian said with a charming smile. Ana tried to be annoyed, but she couldn't help smile at how cute he was being.

"Well then, thank you for your chivalry," Ana smirked, and Christian chuckled.

"You're very welcome, Ana," he said with another smile. He then looked toward the doors and gestured at them. "The weather's fairly decent tonight - would you like to go for a walk while we eat our ice cream?"

"Sure," Ana agreed, and the two of them headed out the doors toward the dark, lamplit street outside. The weather was cool and comfortable, and Ana couldn't help but smile to herself as the two of them made their way side-by-side down the city sidewalk, eating their delicious gelato as they walked along.

"…So where is your new job going to be?" Christian asked conversationally after a few moments, scooping up another spoonful of his chocolate ice cream. "You mentioned you worked with that guy Paul, but you just handed in your two weeks notice?"

"Yeah - I graduated from college a few years ago, and soon after started working at Clayton's Hardware over on Capital Street," Ana explained, taking another bite of her ice cream. "It was just a way for me to make ends meet while I looked for a real job in the publishing industry, which is where I wanted to be. I worked at Clayton's for a little over two years, but a few weeks ago I interviewed for and ended up getting a copywriter job at Seattle Independent Press."

"That's great!" Christian said sincerely, and Ana smiled rather embarrassedly. "Congratulations - SIP is a wonderful company, and from what I understand they have excellent financials."

"Do you know them?" Ana asked interestedly.

"In a sense - my own company, Grey Enterprise Holdings, deals with the mergers and acquisitions of businesses in the Washington state area, as well as all over the country. I make it my business to understand how other companies tick."

"Wait - your company?" Ana asked, giving him a bewildered look. "You mean _yours_ , as in you own it?"

"Well since it's named after me, it makes sense that I would own it," Christian smiled amusedly. "I'm the CEO."

Ana blinked, surprised. "Wow - that's incredible. I've heard of that company before, but I didn't realize it was yours. Where are you located?"

"I can show you actually," Christian said. The two of them walked around the corner, and Christian stopped in his tracks. Ana stopped right next to him, and he pointed at something in the distance.

"See that skyscraper over there?"

Ana looked where he was pointing - tall buildings and city lights decorated the darkened Seattle skyline, and she noticed one particular skyscraper several blocks away that stood a little taller than the rest.

"The tallest one, there?" she asked, pointing at it too.

"Yeah," Christian said. "That's where my company is."

Ana looked over at him, shocked. "In the whole building?"

"In the whole building," Christian nodded, his smile widening at the shocked expression on Ana's face. "I've owned the property for almost five years now, while GEH is a little over eight years old. It's my pride and joy."

"Wow," Ana shook her head, dumbfounded, and the two of them started walking down the sidewalk once again. "I have to apologize - I didn't realize I was in the presence of such greatness."

Christian chuckled amusedly. "Trust me, Ana - I'm really not all that great."

"Oh come on," Ana said incredulously. "You're CEO of a giant company and you probably make millions of dollars doing it. How's that not great?"

Christian was silent for a moment or two. "At risk of sounding pretentious, there's more to life than making money," he said solemnly.

Ana didn't say anything to that, and the two of them walked along the sidewalk, finishing their gelato in comfortable silence. Pretty soon, they arrived at the area near the Space Needle where the International Fountain was. Dozens of other couples were either meandering down the sidewalk or stopping to appreciate the beautiful architecture of the fountain. Christian and Ana tossed their empty paper cups away in a nearby garbage can before walking over to the fountain where everybody else was.

"Thank you for all this," Ana said after a moment, as they leisurely began to walk around the fountain. Christian looked at her, and Ana glanced up at him with a small smile. "This night has turned out to be a lot better than I had anticipated - I really have you to thank for that."

"Please - I should be the one thanking you," Christian said sincerely. "I've never met anyone quite like you before."

"Really?" Ana asked with a small, incredulous giggle.

"Really," Christian nodded. "I find you very fascinating, Ms. Steele."

Ana felt her heart soar as she smiled at him. "Well, I find _you_ very fascinating, Mr. Grey," she said right back, and Christian chuckled.

"Do you now?" he asked, stopping in his tracks, and Ana stopped and turned to face him. "And would your fascination with me have anything to do with my money perchance?"

Ana giggled, taking a step toward him. "Well… you said yourself that there's more to life than just money, Mr. Grey. Wouldn't you agree?"

Christian smirked, gazing into Ana's eyes, but didn't say anything. The two of them were standing very close, their eyes trained on each other, and Ana could feel her heart pounding frantically in her chest. The way Christian was looking at her right now made her feel things she had never felt before, and she was almost frightened by the rush of desire coursing through her body at the moment.

"…Did you mean what you said?" Ana asked quietly after a moment, still gazing at him. "Back at the restaurant… you said a girl as beautiful as me shouldn't have to settle for a date with a guy she works with?"

Christian still said nothing, but his intense gaze moved down to her lips, as if entranced by them. He slowly stepped forward, his face inches from her own, and Ana felt like she was hypnotized as she stared up into his gorgeous eyes.

He leaned down, and in a moment his lips were pressing against hers in a fervent kiss, causing Ana's heart to soar and her insides to melt into a puddle. As if on instinct, her arms went up to wrap around his neck, her fingers weaving in his copper hair, and Christian slid his arms around her waist, pulling her body close to his while exploring her mouth with his tongue. Ana kissed him back with equal fervor, feeling as if she had died and floated off to heaven.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Christian pulled back slightly, his arms still around her waist while Ana's arms stayed wrapped around his neck. They were both panting, staring into each other's eyes as if no one else in the world existed.

"…Sorry," Christian whispered after a moment, shaking his head. "I couldn't help myself… I just…"

"Shh," Ana brought a hand down and pressed her finger to his lips, silencing him. She gave him a smile before bringing both her hands down and grasping the lapels of his suit, tugging him closer. "Shut up," she whispered, and Christian let out a chuckle.

"Yes, ma'am."

Ana tugged on his shirt, and their lips met once again in a deep, passionate kiss, neither of them caring about anything or anybody else in the world.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you all so, so much for reading and reviewing! I thought my email inbox was going to break with all the reviews, follows and favorites I had gotten for the first chapter of this story lol.**

 **If you liked this chapter, please review! And make sure you follow my Pinterest board for this story at www dot pinterest dot com/strawpaj/the-price-of-love/**


	3. Taking a Chance

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! Here's the next chapter for you.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Taking a Chance**

 **CPOV**

 **~3 WEEKS LATER~**

"Oh fuck - _Christian_!"

Ana arched her back in ecstasy as Christian pounded into her, and he grasped her waist as her thighs clamped around his hips tightly. With a groan, Christian leaned forward so his face was level with hers, still thrusting into her, and Ana moved her hands up to tangle her fingers in his hair. With a groan Christian buried his face in the crook of her neck.

"Fuck - baby, I'm going to come," he gasped against the skin of her neck. _So fucking sexy._

"Christian… fuck, I'm so close," Ana said breathlessly, her fingers tugging more insistently in his hair. " _Please…_!"

"Come with me, baby," Christian hissed, thrusting his hips faster as he moved his face up and gazed into her eyes. He then pressed his lips to hers in a fervent kiss, slamming into her hard.

"Mhm!" Ana moaned against his lips, suddenly stilling and shuddering heavily as she came. With a growl, Christian jerked his hips a few more times before stilling, coming hard inside of her.

 _Fucking hell!_

For several seconds neither of them said anything, only exchanging panting breaths and gentle touches as Christian slowly thrust in and out of her, both of them coming down off their highs. He finally pressed his forehead to hers, both of them basking in the warm afterglow of their lovemaking.

"…God, baby," Christian panted after what felt like an eternity. He finally rolled off of her and onto his bed, reaching down to roll his condom off and toss it away. "If fucking you is going to be like that every time, you're going to be the death of me."

Ana giggled, rolling over so she was cuddling up against his side. "Well then, I can't think of a better way to go."

Christian chuckled, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her tightly against him. "Very true," he conceded, leaning down and pressing a kiss to her on her forehead. Ana sighed contentedly as she settled against him, sliding her arm around his stomach as they cuddled in their post-coital bliss.

"Mm," Ana closed her eyes, a smile on her lips. "I love this."

Christian rested his cheek against Ana's head, gazing down at her darkened silhouette lying against him, her features contrasting against the moonlight through his floor-to-ceiling windows. "Me too," he whispered, almost surprised at how true those words were.

Ana, obviously picking up on the tone, lifted her head up slightly to gaze at him. "You alright?" she asked quietly.

Christian simply smiled, taking in her beautiful face and delicate features. "Yeah baby - I'm great. It's just that sometimes I can't believe how lucky I am. Being here, with you…" he trailed his fingers down her arm. "In my bed… it almost seems too good to be true."

Ana smiled at him, though a certain expression clouded her eyes. "You mean because I'm not a contracted submissive?" she asked quietly, moving away slightly so she could gaze up at him.

"Because I don't _want_ you as my contracted submissive," Christian clarified, the afterglow of his and Ana's lovemaking quickly fading with this conversation topic. "You mean more to me than those other women ever did, Ana, and I don't want you to think you're like them. Ever."

Ana didn't say anything for a moment - she just gazed at Christian with an unreadable expression on her face before settling back down against his side.

"Baby," he said, gazing at her concernedly while running the backs of his knuckles against her hair. "What's wrong? Please tell me."

Ana sighed, nuzzling her face into his shoulder. "It's nothing… I guess I'm just still trying to come to terms with your past, that's all. You told me everything about your past in the BDSM lifestyle, and I'm honestly glad that you did, but it's still just a lot to process, that's all."

Christian grimaced. "I know Ana. I'm so, so sorry you've had to deal with all the shit about about my past. If I had known at some point in my life that I would find someone like you, I would have given up that lifestyle years ago. I truly mean that."

"That's very sweet of you Christian, but it's okay. Everybody has a past," Ana said fairly. "Remember when I told you all about my ex-boyfriend Jose and how things ended with us? It sucked, but it's in my past and I moved on."

Christian snorted, remembering the dirty lying scumbag she told him she had dated in college. "That Rodriguez guy was a complete asshole," he said with vitriol, and Ana couldn't help but snicker. "What kind of insecure shithead cheats on his girlfriend? Especially one as beautiful and sexy and amazing and perfect as you?"

Christian rolled over so he was on top of her again, and Ana giggled, her fingers immediately tangling in his hair as she gazed up at him with deep affection.

"You are something else, Mr. Grey," she smiled sweetly, running her fingers through his hair, and Christian smirked, leaning forward so his lips brushed lightly against hers.

"I could say the same about you, Ms. Steele," he said, pulling back slightly so he could stare into her beautiful blue eyes. "I feel like my entire world has been flipped upside down since the day I met you. I never thought I would feel this way about someone until I saw you walk into Canlis all those weeks ago. And I'm now considering things that I've never considered before… all because of you."

Ana stared at him with an unreadable expression on her face. "You mean… a 'vanilla' relationship?" she asked tentatively, hopefully.

Christian nodded, a soft smile on his lips. "Yes. I think I do want to try vanilla with you… that is, if you want that."

"Of course I do," Ana said sincerely. "But won't a vanilla relationship be a bit… I don't know… _boring_ for someone like you? Don't you want the kind of relationship where we can do all the stuff you normally like to do in a BDSM relationship?"

Ana blushed heavily when she asked that, and with a small sigh Christian rolled off of her so he lay beside her, facing her while propped up on his elbow.

"Ana, I used to always think that vanilla sex meant boring, and that there would be nothing exciting about it. But I swear to you… what we do - what you and I did just a few minutes ago -" Ana blushed again, and Christian smirked. "It is the most amazing sex I have ever had in my life. I honestly mean that."

Ana giggled, her beautiful features seeming to light up the darkened bedroom. "Same here, Mr. Grey."

Christian's smile widened. "And I also realized something else, Ms. Steele…" he said, taking her wrist and tugging it so she was now on top of him. Her long brown hair cascaded over both their faces, and she giggled as her nose hovered inches above Christian's.

"What did you realize, Mr. Grey?" she asked seductively, leaning down so her soft lips brushed against his.

"I realized I want more with you than just sex," he admitted. "I want to go out with you… take you out on dates, bring you out on my boat, introduce you to my family… I've never wanted to do that with anyone before. Everything feels so new and exciting with you, and I don't want to give that up. Letting go of a lifestyle that was beginning to bore me in the first place seems like a small price to pay."

Ana gazed at him, the deep affection she had for him written all over her face. "I feel the same way, Christian. I don't think I've never connected with someone the way I've connected with you… and even if we're just doing vanilla…" she brushed her fingers along Christian's hairline. "Maybe down the road, you could… I don't know… show me some of the things you liked to do in the past?" She turned her gaze away from Christian, pretending to look coy. "Vanilla with sprinkles, so to speak?"

Christian couldn't help but laugh. "'Vanilla with sprinkles'?" he asked with an amused smile, bringing his arms up so they wrapped around her waist. "I like the way you think, Ms. Steele."

He suddenly rolled over so he was now on top, and Ana squealed with delight as she moved with him. Christian's face now hovered inches above Ana's, and her expression he was sure reflected his own.

"You are amazing," he murmured with reverence before leaning down and capturing her lips in a passionate kiss. Ana kissed him back with equal fervor, her fingers weaving into his hair again, and in a moment they were back doing what they did best.

* * *

 **EPOV**

 **~2 DAYS LATER~**

The scene inside _Club_ _Valor_ was typical for a Friday evening, with crowds of people gathering around the bar and dance floor, eager to celebrate the end of the week with dancing, partying and drinks. Lights and loud music pulsed throughout the dark club, and even though the evening had just begun, the backrooms where private playroom scenes were held had filled up already.

Elena currently sat at a small two-person table in the corner of the club, stirring her drink while trying not to let the annoyance show on her face to her dinner companion.

"…Do you need me to repeat myself, Elena?" Cynthia asked again. Her voice could barely be heard over the loud music, but it was noticeably angry. "Five thousand dollars - _each_. My girls know that your services are a risky investment, but they were promised some sort of return, even if it was just an interview or a practice session. You've yet to deliver on anything - what the hell are you playing at?"

Elena pressed her lips together, exercising years of practiced control as she tried not to bite Cynthia's head off. "You know as well as I that Mr. Grey is a very busy man - he doesn't have the time you or I might have to negotiate these contracts. Your girls will get their compensation - just tell them to be patient."

Cynthia pursed her lips, her dark lipstick contrasting heavily against her pale skin, her sleek ponytail glinting slightly under the dim lighting of the club. "They've been patient for months, Elena," she said in a clipped voice. "How busy can one man be?"

Elena glared at her. "Very busy," she said shortly.

Cynthia narrowed her eyes. "And what about my girl Maria, huh?" she went on, picking up her iPad laying on the table and tapping on it for a moment before showing the screen to Elena. There was a profile shot of a very beautiful young blonde woman. "She paid your fee, but she's also spent an additional $800 on beauty treatments at your salon… to dye her natural blonde hair _brown_." Cynthia practically slammed her iPad down on the table, glaring at Elena. "Now why the hell would she do that? Maria's blonde hair was her main asset, and for months now she's been spending hundreds of dollars trying to look like a plain, boring brunette! What is the point of all this?"

"It's all a process, Cynthia," Elena explained impatiently to the other domme. "These girls know what they're committing to when they invest in me. It will pay off - I promise."

"It better," Cynthia said vindictively, getting to her feet. "These girls are getting impatient, Elena, and so am I. And I promise you - if you don't deliver on this, not getting your money will be the _least_ of your concerns."

With that, Cynthia grabbed her purse and iPad before turning around and stalking away to the exit, her black ponytail swinging in her wake.

Elena exhaled through her nose before downing the rest of her vodka, feeling the burn of the alcohol slide down her throat. She was pissed off that Cynthia Vay was breathing down her neck about Christian Grey's lack of presence in the BDSM community, but she couldn't say she wasn't prepared for it. Other dommes at the local Seattle clubs were all starting to talk, and Elena was growing more frustrated with Christian by the day.

Why the hell wasn't he returning her calls?

She checked her phone, not surprised to see no messages from Christian, but his lack of responsiveness only ended up pissing her off more. With a bitter frown, she tossed a fifty dollar bill on the table before standing up and beginning to make her way out of the BDSM club.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much she could do about Christian's radio silence - the more she would bother him about finding a new submissive, the more resistant he was to doing it. He was like a goddamn teenager in that way.

 _After all those years of training and discipline, did he honestly learn nothing from me?_

Elena made her way outside the club and managed to hail a cab through the throngs of people milling around the busy downtown metropolis - she got in the cab and they drove off into the late night traffic. After turning a corner, they passed by the Escala building, and Elena was sorely tempted to have the cab driver pull over so she could storm up to Christian's apartment and demand he speak to her. Just as she was contemplating doing that, however, her phone pinged with an incoming message.

Tearing her eyes away from the window, Elena looked down at her phone, hoping it was Christian finally getting back to her. It wasn't, though - it was a Google Alert.

 _Did Christian make the news today?_

Frowning, Elena tapped on the link that popped up for a _Seattle_ _Nooz_ article:

 _ ****CHRISTIAN GREY SPOTTED TAKING BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY WOMAN OUT FOR A DAY ON THE LAKE****_

 _Christian Trevelyan Grey - the young, handsome, infamously single Seattle businessman - was spotted taking a beautiful mystery woman out on his boat on Washington Lake harbor this Friday afternoon. While we at the_ Nooz _are not able to_ _confirm the reason why they were there, the two of them were seen getting onto the boat together holding hands and smiling at each other, Mr. Grey even putting his arm around the young woman. Perhaps we are just now getting a glimpse into Christian Grey's super secret dating life? Hopefully, we'll have more news on the matter to come!_

Above the article were pictures, obviously taken from a distance, of Christian and a brunette girl walking hand-in-hand along a harbor, both of them wearing light summer clothes and smiling from ear to ear. One of the pictures even showed Christian placing his hand around the girl's waist as he led them down the pier toward where his boat was docked.

Elena could only stare at the pictures, her heart hammering in her ears. Through her shock, she could just barely register the fact that her life was beginning to crash and burn all around her.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that! These first few chapters were meant to establish Christian and Ana's relationship, meaning there's gonna be more drama ahead. Stay tuned!**

 **Please review, and check out my Pinterest board for this story at www dot pinterest dot com/strawpaj/the-price-of-love**


	4. Who is She?

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! Please enjoy this next chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Who is She?**

 **CPOV**

After spending the most enjoyable weekend he'd ever had with his beautiful new girlfriend, Christian was pretty loathe to go back to work the following Monday. Memories of Ana lying naked in his bed - moaning sensually as he drove into her hard with her arching her back in ecstasy - filled his mind, and he could feel himself getting hard as he arrived at GEH for the day. He silently prayed Andrea and Olivia couldn't see anything as he asked them to fetch him a coffee and his mail before making his way inside his office.

Once Christian was alone in his office, he couldn't help but gaze out his window, looking at the beautiful sunlight that filtered in through his floor-to-ceiling windows. He had never realized before just how beautiful the view from his office was - today especially the sun was shining down from a clear blue sky, making the tall buildings of the city contrast sharply against the skyline. It was breathtaking, and Christian felt surprised that he had never noticed its beauty before.

But then again, he doubted he had ever felt this happy before.

The beautiful Anastasia Rose Steele had completely captivated him, and he would be lying if he said he wasn't helpless to her power over him. He could honestly say he had never felt this way about a woman before, and the fact that she felt the same way about him was thrilling in a way he had never anticipated. Being with her had completely changed his perspective on relationships altogether.

Generally, Christian had enjoyed the D/s relationships he had had with other women over the years - the power exchanges satisfied him on a level he couldn't achieve anywhere else, and the fantastic sex was just an added bonus. However, he found that with each submissive the dynamic was always a bit different - some of his subs practiced BDSM because they liked the pain and the domination when having sex, but some of his subs practiced the lifestyle because they simply felt emotionally fulfilled when they were being controlled by someone else. Christian found that he had enjoyed the D/s relationships with the latter type of submissive more than the type that got off on pain because he could sympathize with that sort of emotional fulfillment.

All-in-all, that's what made him realize what Flynn had been telling him for years - that maybe he wasn't a sadist after all, and that he could actually try to be with a woman outside of the context of the BDSM lifestyle.

If the emotional fulfillment was the main thing Christian got out of a BDSM relationship, why should a vanilla relationship outside of the lifestyle be so outlandish to him? He practiced those D/s relationships in order to find a connection with someone, and now he finally had found that connection - only the woman he connected with wasn't in the lifestyle. If Ana didn't need BDSM, and she didn't need the pain or punishments in order to feel an emotional connection with someone, then Christian wouldn't make her do anything she didn't want to do. He would find a way to connect with her outside of a D/s relationship.

For the first time in his life, Christian held on to a firm feeling of hope for his future, and he couldn't help but feel deliriously happy at the prospects a relationship with Ana would offer him. They'd already spent a wonderful weekend together without going into the playroom - he fucked her in his bed and in many other parts of his apartment, had taken her out on _The Grace_ , and soon he was planning on surprising her this coming weekend with a fancy dinner at the Space Needle after taking her gliding on the outskirts of the city.

Christian found himself smiling as he powered up his computer, unable to help himself as he did so. Just as he opened up his email, however, his BlackBerry started to ring - the caller ID saying 'Ana Steele'.

His smile widening, Christian answered the phone before bringing it to his ear. "Why, hello Ms. Steele. I was just thinking about you."

"Were you, Mr. Grey?" Ana answered back coquettishly. "Well I hope they were good thoughts."

"Mm, _very_ good thoughts," Christian practically growled. "Although I don't think they would be appropriate to share with you over the phone while at work."

Ana giggled, and Christian felt like his heart was going to pound right out of his chest. "Well, we wouldn't want that, now would we? I'll cut right to the chase, then - my new boss, Mr. Roach, just informed us that SIP is holding a company-wide dinner at the Radisson. All the employees and our authors are going to be there as just like a big, networking sort of thing."

"Sounds like fun," Christian said with a smile. "You should definitely go in order to make a good impression on your new coworkers and meet some authors."

"Well, that's why I'm calling - I was wondering if you'd like to go with me as my date? I know you're generally pretty busy, but it's the Saturday after next if you're interested…" Ana seemed to stumble over her words a bit, as if nervous to be asking him. "I mean, if you don't mind going to a public event with me as your date…"

Christian, however, beamed widely, extremely happy at the prospect of going out on a public date with his girl. "Baby, I'd love to go with you to that dinner. I'll be free that weekend, I promise."

Even if he already had something work-related planned, he would cancel - he would do pretty much anything to make Anastasia happy. He heard someone knocking on his office doors, but he ignored it to continue his phone conversation.

"So you'll go with me? Great!" Ana said brightly, and Christian could practically hear her smiling through the phone. "I'll really be looking forward to this party now."

"Well, I'm glad to have made a difference," Christian chuckled. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his office doors open, and he looked up to see Andrea step inside with his mail and coffee. The person following her inside made his mood plummet immediately, however.

 _Fucking hell._

"…Baby, I have to go," Christian said to Ana as Elena stepped into his office, walking toward her usual spot on the chaise lounge. Andrea brought the coffee and mail to Christian's desk before heading back out, closing the door silently behind her. "I'll see you tonight?"

"See you tonight," Ana confirmed, a smile in her voice. "Bye Christian."

"Bye, baby."

He hung up the phone, decidedly turning away from Elena as he sorted through the stack of mail Andrea brought him. He could feel her gaze on him, however, and after a few moments he finally looked up to see her sitting on the chaise near his coffee table, her legs crossed primly in front of her as she stared right at Christian. She smiled.

"Hello darling," she said sweetly, bringing her hand down and tapping her red manicured fingers on the armrest.

"Elena," Christian greeted stiffly, feeling the pit in his stomach grow as he spoke - how had he not realized before how unpleasant her presence was in his office? Countless times she had stopped by GEH during the workday, but lately he had just started feeling far too annoyed by her and her persistent attempts to contact him. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I've been trying to call you for weeks, darling, but you never pick up the phone," Elena said with a small sigh, picking at an invisible piece of lint off her pants. "Who were you on the phone with just now?"

"None of your business," Christian said shortly. "And if the reason you're here today is about the submissives you have lined up for me, I'll save you some time and tell you I'm not interested."

"My, you're very blunt," Elena said with a condescending chuckle, uncrossing her legs. "Could Andrea bring me a cup of coffee? Two sugars, no cream."

Christian looked back up and glared at her. "Is there a particular reason why you're here today, Elena?" he asked, his annoyed tone coming through rather sharply. "I'm pretty busy today."

Elena finally dropped her condescending smile to pierce Christian with an impassive look. "Be careful, Christian," she said in a warning tone. "One may start to think you're losing your touch."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Christian said angrily. What the hell was Elena on about?

"It means that image is important, Christian," Elena said sharply, getting to her feet and beginning to walk toward him, her heels clicking on the marble floor. "Stories come out about you in the tabloids, rumors about your personal life are leaked, and people will start to think that you're weak."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Christian snapped, getting more impatient by the moment.

"I'm talking about the _Seattle Nooz_ reporting a story where you were seen taking a sub out on your boat on Lake Washington," Elena said angrily, crossing her arms in front of her chest and glancing toward the doors as if worried someone was going to come through and eavesdrop. "A sub that I didn't even know you had contracted in the first place… people have seen you two out together now, and the entire state of Washington now thinks you're in a secret relationship with this girl. What in God's name were you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that you and the rest of the Seattle media need to mind your own business," Christian said calmly, turning back to the mail on his desk.

"Have you completely taken leave of your senses?" Elena snapped, and Christian glanced up at her again to see her glaring at him. "You make it a point to never be seen in public with any of your subs because you don't want the media to draw conclusions about them, and now you blatantly go out on your boat with someone I've never seen before... and you just don't care? What the hell has gotten into you?"

"What has 'gotten into me' is none of your goddamn business," Christian said, finally losing his patience and getting to his feet as well, glaring right back at her. "You are not a part of this, and I will not have you coming into my building and barging into my office, telling me how to live my life! Where the hell do you get off?"

Elena looked shocked that he would even say that. "I always offered you help and guidance with your relationships in the past," she said quietly after a moment. "And you've always sought my counsel on these matters. Forgive me if I thoughtlessly assumed that my opinion mattered to you."

Christian resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her 'hurt' tone of voice - something she had pulled far too often in the past. "When I need your advice, I will ask for it. Since I didn't ask for it, you can leave now."

Elena didn't say anything for a moment or two. She finally uncrossed her arms and placed her hands on her hips, giving Christian a scrupulous look. "Who is the girl?"

Christian frowned at Elena, annoyed. "What?"

"The girl you were pictured with - on your boat," Elena said impatiently. "Who is she? Where did you find her?"

Christian felt his anger building once again. "You mean which club?" he asked, the anger in his voice apparent.

"Yes, obviously," Elena said condescendingly. "Which club did you find her at?"

"Yes, because where else would I be able to meet a woman?" Christian asked disdainfully, mimicking her condescending tone. "I'm pretty sure they can be found in other places besides fetish clubs, Elena."

"So you didn't meet her at a club?" she asked, dropping her arms from her hips. "You mean…?"

Christian didn't say anything, and Elena suddenly let out a gasp, looking as if he had personally offended her. She took a step back. "You're telling me this girl you're seeing isn't a submissive? You're…" Elena glowered. "… _dating_ her?"

" _I_ am not telling you anything," Christian said firmly. "So why won't you fucking stop?"

"I'll stop when _you_ stop making the biggest mistake of your life," Elena snapped. "I was afraid of this... you are going down a road that you will regret, Christian, and I guarantee you are going to get hurt. People like you and me don't belong in vanilla relationships - we're not made for that lifestyle. We need control and domination - not love and companionship!"

"No - what we need is for _you_ need to stop lumping me in to your blanket statements about relationships," Christian said, leaning forward and placing his hands on his desk in an authoritative pose, fixing Elena with an icy glare. "I'm not a child anymore, Elena - I'm able to make my own decisions regarding my relationships, and if I choose to try something outside of a lifestyle you forced me into when I was fifteen, I should have the ability to do that."

"Oh, what I _forced_ you into?" Elena scoffed, crossing her arms again and taking a step closer to Christian, meeting his glare straight on. "You fucking _wanted_ it!"

"What I _want_ is for you to get out of my office and to stop trying to constantly push submissives on me like they're nothing more than pieces of meat," Christian snapped, and Elena blinked, taken aback. "I'm sick and tired of you trying to dictate every contract I have with a sub, Elena, and I won't have you standing in my office telling me what I can and can't do! I own stock in your precious hair salon," he went on warningly, and Elena paled. "I am not afraid to pull my backing if you step out of line again. You are on _very_ thin ice, Elena."

Elena was silent for several long moments. Finally, she slowly uncrossed her arms, her face impassive. "I only want what's best for you, Christian," she said stiffly, looking him in the eye once again with a piercing glare. "But I'm right about this… and I just hope you figure it out before it's too late."

Before Christian could respond, Elena turned on her heel and stalked toward the doors, walking out of his office without another word.

* * *

 **A/N: And the drama's beginning… I hope you all enjoyed that chapter! If you did, please leave a review.**

 **And a belated shoutout to Carmel Rhodes to publishing her first book** _ **Shipwrecked**_ **! It's on Amazon if you want to check it out, which you definitely should ;)**

 **Make sure you follow my Pinterest board for this story at www dot pinterest dot com/strawpaj/the-price-of-love/**


	5. Seattle Independent Press

**A/N: Thank you all for your wonderful reviews and support! Here's the next chapter for you.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Seattle Independent Press**

 **KPOV**

 **~2 WEEKS LATER~**

"Come on, Ana! Let me see you!" Kate called impatiently, reclining on Ana's bed with a glass of white wine in her hand. "You're taking for _ever_."

"Rome wasn't built in a day, you know," Ana giggled, finally exiting her en suite, straightening her dress before dropping her arms by her sides. "How do I look?"

It was the evening of the Seattle Independent Press dinner at the Radisson, and Kate was helping Ana find the perfect dress to wear to this black-tie event. After trying on a bunch of dresses from Kate's wardrobe, Ana had finally tried on this one - a beautiful red gown that fell to her feet with a plunging neckline and a thin black belt around her waist. She wore silver and crystal pendant earrings, and her chestnut hair she had pulled into a simple yet elegant chignon at the back of her head.

Kate gaped at her.

"Oh my God," she said, setting her glass of wine onto the bedside cabinet before getting up off the bed, staring at Ana with wide eyes. "Ana, you look gorgeous! Seriously - this is the one!"

"You think?" Ana asked hopefully, smiling as she looked down at her dress. "I wasn't sure about the color…"

"No, Ana - seriously, it's perfect," Kate insisted with a sincere grin. "I never thought this shade of red was my color, but it's goes beautifully with your hair and skin tone. I can do your makeup, and then I think you're good to go."

"Great! But try to hurry - Christian's going to be here in like fifteen minutes," Ana said as the two of them went back into the en suite.

"I can work with that," Kate said confidently, grabbing her makeup bag as Ana sat down in front of the bathroom mirror. Neither of them said anything for a few moments as she gathered together the makeup and brushes she was going to use on her friend.

"…So you and Christian Grey," Kate said conversationally as she began applying foundation to Ana's face. "It seems to be getting pretty serious now?"

Ana couldn't fight her smile. "I don't know… I mean, I like him a lot. Things have definitely been moving pretty fast with us, and I've never felt this way about someone before - not even Jose."

"Ugh, don't even say that asshole's name," Kate scoffed as she brushed Ana's face with some setting powder, and Ana rolled her eyes with a smirk. "At least Christian sounds like a catch - I'm happy for you. But if he ever cheats on you, I'll stab him in the eye with the heel of my shoe."

"I'll be sure he knows that," Ana snickered, and the next moment she and Kate heard the doorbell ring f.

"That'll be Christian. Could you let him in?" Ana asked, taking the makeup brush from Kate. "I can finish up my eyeshadow."

"Okay. Just try not to smudge my masterpiece," Kate said firmly, taking a step back and looking over Ana's face. She smiled. "Oh my God - you look _amazing_. He's going to freak!"

"Go answer the door, please," Ana said with a smile and an eyeroll, and Kate giggled before turning and hurrying toward the living room to answer the door.

"…Hello," Kate smiled as she opened the door, seeing the tall, good-looking man standing on the threshold in a dark gray Armani suit. "Are you Christian?"

"Yeah. Are you Kate?" Christian asked politely, stepping forward and holding out his hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Kate said, shaking his hand. She moved back so Christian could walk over the threshold into the apartment. "Ana's just finishing up - she'll be out in a minute."

"Great," Christian said, shoving his hands into his pockets. There was an awkward silence for a few seconds after that, neither of them knowing what to say to each other.

"So, um… do you want a drink?" Kate asked after a moment, gesturing toward the kitchen. "We have water, coffee, tea or wine."

"Oh - sure. Thank you," Christian said with a polite smile. "Water's fine."

The two of them made their way into the kitchen, and Kate reached into the fridge, pulling out two Figi water bottles.

"…So I heard you and Ana met during her so-called date with Paul Clayton," Kate said, handing Christian one of the bottles of water before sitting down across from him at the breakfast bar.

Christian chuckled. "Oh - yeah. I was sitting at the table next to hers, and I could tell their date wasn't going very well. I also noticed she was very pretty, so when I saw an opportunity to talk to her, I decided to take it."

Kate smiled - Ana always did seem to have that effect on guys. "Well, she seems very happy with you."

Christian smiled back, looking legitimately pleased. "Well, I'm very happy with her too."

"Christian?"

Kate and Christian looked around to see Ana walk in, looking stunning with her pretty red dress and smoky eye makeup, her painted red lips breaking out into a wide smile when she saw her boyfriend. Christian looked struck dumb by her appearance, and after a moment he got to his feet, staring at her like she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

"Ana…" he breathed, his voice catching in his throat. "You look… wow…"

Ana giggled shyly. "Thanks."

With a wide smile, Christian moved forward and pulled Ana into his arms, pressing his lips to hers in a fervent kiss. Ana immediately kissed him back, lifting her arms up and wrapping them around his neck. For several moments they stood there making out, and Kate finally cleared her throat.

"I'll leave you guys to it then," she said, getting to her feet as Christian and Ana broke apart. "Have fun tonight - call me if you need anything, Ana."

"Thanks Kate," Ana said, blushing slightly as she moved out of Christian's arms so she could hug Kate goodbye. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah you will," Kate said suggestively, and Ana snickered, her blush deepening.

"Oh shut up."

And with that, Christian and Ana gathered their things before making their way out the front door, Christian's hand at the small of Ana's back. Kate couldn't help but smile to herself as she watched the two of them leave.

* * *

 **APOV**

Ana and Christian arrived at the Radisson at about seven o'clock, and a majority of SIP's employees and guests had already arrived. Taylor dropped the two of them off at the front door before driving off to park the Audi somewhere else. Ana took Christian's proffered arm before the two of them made their way inside together.

"So am I going to know any of these people?" Christian asked as they entered the opulent ballroom. Dozens of well-dressed men and women filled the large area, holding expensive-looking drinks while socializing with one another.

"Well… over there's my boss, Jerry Roach," Ana said, pointing toward the far end of the room, where an old, slightly balding man was talking to a petite blonde woman in a pretty navy blue gown. "The woman he's talking to is Elizabeth Morgan, the head of Human Resources."

"Got it," Christian said, glancing around at some of the other people. "And who's Prince Charming over by the bar there?"

Ana glanced over to where Christian was looking, and grimaced when she recognized him. Jack Hyde… he was the young, red-haired man wearing a light gray suit who was standing at the bar area, talking to to Claire the receptionist in an overly-friendly way. He leaned one arm on the counter while smiling and reaching his other hand up to casually caress her forearm. Claire, looking rather uncomfortable, kept trying to inch away from him, though that didn't seem to deter him.

"That's our acquisitions editor, Jack Hyde," Ana said, almost apologetically. Christian looked over at her, frowning.

"Wait - that guy's your superior?" he asked, his voice rising angrily. "You work for him?"

"Shh," Ana shushed him, glancing around at Jack to make sure he didn't hear him. "Yes, I know he can be kind of an ass, but he isn't like that all the time. And he's still my boss, so I don't want him overhearing us talking about him."

Christian still looked angry, so Ana took his hand in hers and pulled him toward another part of the room where they wouldn't be overheard. "Christian, I'm still new at this company," she said seriously. "I'm trying to make a good first impression with these people. I can't go around complaining about my superiors like that."

Christian still seemed upset about this Jack Hyde guy, but he softened slightly at Ana's pleading. "Okay, I won't say anything. Just… let me know if he ever bothers you," said reluctantly, shooting a dirty look over at Jack Hyde, who Claire had finally managed to get away from. "I won't stand for you feeling uncomfortable at work whenever he's around."

"Fine," Ana agreed, hoping they could drop the matter. "Now can we just enjoy the party now?"

"I suppose," Christian said with a grimace, straightening the lapels of his suit jacket. "After all, schmoozing with business people is what I do best, isn't it?"

Ana giggled, hooking her arm through his. "That, and being some pretty hot arm candy."

Christian rolled his eyes with a good-natured smile, and the two of them walked back into the heart of the party.

* * *

 **CPOV**

Two minutes at the Seattle Independent Press dinner and Christian already found out some unsettling things about Ana's work environment that made him seriously question her safety working there. Perhaps he was just being overly protective, but this Jack Hyde guy made him uneasy, and he didn't like that Ana had to work under him every single day. Christian watched him out of the corner of his eye - he seemed to have indulged in a few too many drinks and was conversing flirtatiously with several of the young women there. He was clearly a sleazeball with a poor understanding of boundaries, but thankfully he didn't approach Ana at all - if he did, Christian definitely would have lost his cool.

The thought of Jack approaching Ana reminded Christian of Elena approaching him at Grey House a couple weeks ago, and felt the familiar unease grip his stomach whenever he thought of her. He had been concerned for awhile that she was going to try to approach Ana at some point over the past couple weeks or so, but Christian had amped up security enough to ensure Elena would never get close enough to either Christian or Ana at any point. There hadn't been any sightings of her either, and Ana remained none the wiser - Christian sincerely hoped Elena had taken the hint and backed off for good, meaning he could simply enjoy being on a date with his girl.

Ana now took him around the room and introduced him to some of her office friends - there was Claire the receptionist (who Hyde had been hitting on), Ana's deskmate Megan and her husband Carl, the developmental editor Rhys, and two of the accountants, Stephanie and Jordan. They were all very nice people, although the young ladies he couldn't help but notice got a bit giggly and starstruck around Christian - it would have been extremely annoying if Ana didn't let out a cute little huff every time one of the women tried flirting with him. Her jealousy was adorable, and he loved the fact she wanted people to know he was hers.

He wanted the whole world to know he was Ana's.

"…Good evening, Mr. Roach," Ana greeted her boss with a polite smile as he approached them. She gestured to Christian standing beside her. "I'm not sure if you've been introduced yet, but this is my boyfriend, Christian Grey."

"It's nice to meet you Christian. Wait... are you _the_ Christian Grey, of Grey Enterprise Holdings?" Roach asked with an interested look, shaking Christian's hand. "That giant building right off of 20th and Park Place?"

"That's us," Christian chuckled, nodding. "I'm sure you're aware of what we do?"

"Of course! My buddy Gavin Reese is one of the owners of Reese Graphics, which you guys acquired a little over a year ago. He's told me all about how much better his business is doing now 'cause of you guys…"

Roach went on to talk about how wonderful Grey Enterprise Holdings was and how much a company like Seattle Independent Press could benefit from being under some new management. It certainly seemed like a venture Roach was interested in pursuing, and Christian would be lying if he said he wasn't interested too. However, he knew Ana would probably not appreciate him taking ownership of the company she had just started working at. He instead decided to humor Mr. Roach by listening to his spiel about how SIP was a company ripe for takeover.

"...I think I'm going to grab a drink at the bar," Ana said after a few minutes of being left out of the conversation. "Did you want anything, Christian?"

"I'll take a whiskey on the rocks," Christian smiled at her. "Thanks, baby."

Ana smiled back at him before walking away toward the bar, which thankfully was free of Jack Hyde.

"You must forgive me - I completely forgot myself," Roach chuckled, and Christian looked over at him. "I've been so caught up in talking about SIP with you that I failed to tell you how wonderful an employee Anastasia has been since we hired her. Honestly, she's been nothing but an asset to our company - one of the best new hires we've had in awhile."

Christian couldn't help but smile proudly. "I'm glad to hear it, although it doesn't surprise me at all. Ana is one of the brightest people I know."

"Well, coming from you that's certainly a compliment," Roach said sincerely. "She is most certainly very good at what she does."

Christian smiled again, glancing over at his girl standing at the bar. Before he could say anything, however, he suddenly noticed someone standing beside Ana, and he froze. His heart began to pound loudly in his ears, blocking out all other sound, and he felt like he couldn't breathe. Ana was standing at the bar, sipping a vodka tonic while making small talk with a pretty brunette woman in a teal gown - a woman Christian recognized immediately.

Leila Williams.

She was a submissive he had contracted a couple years ago… she looked a bit older now, and she had cut her auburn hair to shoulder-length, but Christian could tell it was definitely her. She was chatting casually with Ana at the bar with a glass of red wine in her hand, and when she turned her head slightly, her gaze met Christian's. She gave him a small smile, silently indicating to him she knew exactly who she was talking to.

 _Fucking hell._

"Will you excuse me for a moment?" Christian said to Roach before striding quickly through the crowd toward Ana and Leila. He made his way quickly through the crowd, trying not to knock over people as he went.

"Christian," Ana smiled when she saw him approach. "I was just about to find you."

Christian didn't respond - he instead moved to Ana's side and wrapped his arm tightly around her waist, holding her protectively close as his glare landed on Leila. She didn't look fazed by his actions: she simply gazed at him with unblinking brown eyes as she took another sip of wine.

"…Christian?" Ana looked startled by his rigid stance and angry glare. "What's going on?"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Christian snapped, his angry eyes fixed on Leila. She stared coolly back at him for a moment before lowering her gaze to the floor in a deliberately submissive pose.

"Pardon me, Sir," she said smoothly, her gentle tone of voice clearly meant to provoke him. She then turned and walked away into the crowd of people, not looking back.

"...What the hell was that all about?" Ana turned to look at Christian with an expression that was both shocked and pissed. "Who was that, Christian?"

Christian ignored that last question. "Ana, what exactly did she say to you?" he insisted, his voice urgent.

"I don't know - nothing. We were just talking about the party," Ana said defensively. "I figured she was someone's guest or something. Who is she?"

"She's no one," Christian said shortly, spotting Taylor striding toward them. Christian grasped Ana's hand and tugged her toward him. "Come on - we're leaving."

"What? No!" Ana looked shocked he was even suggesting that, and she immediately pulled her hand free from his grasp. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, I'm serious," Christian snapped, grasping her hand more tightly so she wouldn't get away. "Look - that woman is a part of my past I'd rather not get into, and I pay my security team an exorbitant amount of money to keep people like her as far away as possible from you and I. The fact she was able to get this close to you for reasons I don't know yet is enough reason to get you back to Escala where it's safe."

"We're in a room full of my coworkers, Christian. We're perfectly safe…" Ana began heatedly.

"You don't know that," Christian insisted. "Until I can figure out why she was here talking to you, no public venue is safe. We need to get back to Escala."

"I don't want to leave," Ana said firmly, wrenching her hand out of Christian's grip once again. "And that girl wasn't bothering me. Can't we wait to do this until later tonight?"

Christian could feel his anger and frustration building by the second. "Anastasia, this isn't a game. We are not safe here, I will under no circumstances be taking any chances with your safety like this. We are leaving _now_ \- end of story!"

Ana simply glared at Christian for several moments, anger, belligerence and hurt dominating her features before she suddenly whirled around and began striding away. Without a word, she stalked past Taylor and through the crowd of people before heading toward the exit. Christian felt relieved she had finally relented, though the guilt he felt after snapping at her prevailed.

He nodded at Taylor, and the two of them made to follow Ana out the front doors.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that chapter! Although I just want to be perfectly clear that Jack Hyde isn't the bad guy and he will not have a greater purpose in this story - at least not in the way Elena will have.**

 **If you want to see some pictures that inspired this chapter, make sure you follow my Pinterest board for this story at www dot pinterest dot com/strawpaj/the-price-of-love/**


	6. Bringing Up the Past

**A/N: Thank you for all your support! Here's the next chapter for you.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Bringing Up the Past**

 **APOV**

"Ana, wait!"

Ana didn't stop walking, even though she heard Christian running along behind her. Her mind continued to swirl with a plethora of emotions - anger and hurt and confusion all fought for dominance in her brain as she stalked forward, not wanting to look back. She had no idea what the hell had just happened inside, but the way Christian had made her feel was unacceptable - whoever that woman was obviously freaked him out, but he didn't have to make a scene like that in front of all of her coworkers. What the hell was his problem?

"Ana…" Christian caught Ana by the elbow, halting her in her tracks. She stopped when he grabbed her, but she stared down at the ground, refusing to look up at him. "Ana, I'm sorry for snapping at you like that - please, just let me explain," he said, his tone of voice noticeably softer. "I know I was acting like an ass, but please believe me when I say we are much safer out of that room and away from that woman."

Ana couldn't help but feel skeptical - what was so terrifying about that tiny slip of a girl? She hesitated a moment before looking back up at Christian. "Are you going to actually explain why she's dangerous, or are you just going to yell at me again?"

Christian's face fell slightly, showing his sincere regret, and Ana felt a small sweep of satisfaction overtake her briefly at seeing him feel bad for his actions. She heard a car pull up nearby, and they both looked around to see Taylor driving the Audi toward them on the circular drive.

"You can explain yourself in the car," Ana said shortly, pulling her arm out of his grasp before heading over to Taylor. Christian didn't say anything in response, but he hurried forward to open the car door for her. Ana slid into the backseat.

"So - start talking," Ana said once Christian got in the car from the other side and Taylor started to drive off. Christian looked at her, and Ana stared resolutely back. "Why are you so scared of that woman?"

Christian let out a small sigh - through the darkness of the car, Ana could tell he looked uncomfortable. "I told you, she's a part of my past I really don't like to talk about."

"You mean she was one of your contracted submissives?" Ana asked, and Christian looked up at her. "I'm not stupid, Christian - I can put two and two together. You and that girl were intimate with each other."

Christian definitely looked uncomfortable now. "Yes, a few years ago… I haven't had any contact with her since I ended her contract, and when I saw her tonight I could tell she wasn't there by coincidence. When I saw you standing with her across the room, she looked up at me and I could tell from her expression that she knew exactly who you were to me. She had gone to that party deliberately to antagonize us, I'm sure of it."

Ana was silent for a moment, absorbing his words. After a few moment she spoke up: "…So your ex-submissive found out you and I are dating, so she followed us to my company dinner to stalk us… for what exactly? Is she jealous or something?"

Christian didn't say anything for several moments. "Maybe," he muttered, but Ana could tell he sounded unconvinced.

"What?" she asked. "What aren't you telling me?"

Christian reached up and scratched the back of his neck, looking unsure about his next words. "I… I don't know if this is true or not, but the reason she was there might have been because of another woman we both know."

Ana stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate. "Okay?"

"That woman was a friend of mine… someone was in the lifestyle with me. She… um…" Christian hesitated, looking extremely uncomfortable now. "She… found submissives for me to bring under contract."

Ana blinked several times, feeling a pit form in her stomach from having to hear that. "God."

"I know," Christian said, having the decency to look ashamed of himself. "But she was discreet, and I trusted her. At least I felt I could trust her… now I'm starting to seriously think I made a huge mistake."

"Why? Because you think your pimp lady sent that girl in there after us?"

Christian gave a humorless chuckle. "Yes - her name's Elena by the way, and the girl who crashed the party is named Leila."

Ana frowned, looking away from Christian. "Do I need to know their names?" she asked in a tight voice.

There was a short silence. "Sorry," Christian muttered sincerely.

Ana let out a sigh, looking back over at him. "What makes you think Elena sent that Leila woman to the party?"

"I'm not sure, but I think it's because she and I got into a fight a couple weeks ago," Christian explained. "Elena found out I was seeing you, and that I had given up the lifestyle for you, so she got angry. She came by my office and tried to convince me I wasn't cut out for a vanilla relationship, so I got pissed and threw her out."

Ana frowned at him. "And you never thought to tell me this?"

"What was I supposed to say? 'Hey Ana, the woman who introduced me to BDSM ambushed me in my office the other day and told me she doesn't think you and I should be together'? I'm sure that would have gone over well," Christian argued.

Ana froze, staring at him. "What?"

Christian, who seemed to realize what he let slip, kept his mouth shut. There was a tense silence for a few moments.

"She introduced you-?" Ana began, but stopped herself, holding up her hands. "You know what? I don't even want to know," she sat back in her seat and crossed her arms firmly across her chest. "I just want to go home."

"Ana, I'm sorry," Christian insisted, sounding desperate. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you about Elena. She's a part of my past I really don't want to think about anymore - I swear to you, I never once tried contacting her since I met you. I'm done with her."

"If you're so done with her, then why is she apparently sending your exes after us?" Ana asked. "She doesn't sound like she wants to be 'done' with you quite yet."

Christian sighed, clenching his jaw. "I know. And I'm not happy about it… if she did send Leila to stalk us, then she has vastly overstepped her bounds. I'll be sure it never happens again."

Ana didn't say anything for a moment - she suddenly felt very tired, and she really didn't want to discuss this topic any longer. Ana would be lying if she said she hadn't been concerned from the beginning that Christian's past would come out more at some point in their relationship, but she wasn't expecting what had happened tonight. And now there was this Elena woman to deal with…

"Hey," Christian said quietly, taking Ana's hand in his. She didn't pull away this time. "Do you still want to go home?"

His tone was gentle, but Ana could sense the legitimate fear in his voice - the fear that he had lost her completely. Ana felt herself soften slightly as she turned to gaze at him.

"We don't have to… I mean…" Christian went on, clearing his throat. "I know you're still upset with me, but I just don't like sleeping in a bed without you. You keep the bad dreams away."

Ana felt herself relax into a small smile, unable to fight the deep affection she felt for Christian. This whole issue with Elena and Leila wouldn't be resolved by Ana giving Christian the silent treatment - while she was still upset to have learned of their existence this way, she knew it wouldn't be fair to punish Christian over this. She finally squeezed his hand back.

"Yes, I'll go home with you," she said quietly, and Christian's responding smile made Ana feel a bit better.

* * *

 **CPOV**

 **~The next morning~**

Christian slowly roused from sleep, an odd confluence of feelings filling his chest. The warm comfort of waking up wrapped around his beautiful girlfriend as she slept peacefully seemed to be at odds the fire of determination that filled his chest, which made him finally leave the warm confines of the bed after only a few moments' hesitation. He had put off digging into the reason why Leila had been at the SIP party last night for Ana's sake, but now that it was the next day, he was determined to get to the bottom of it. If it turned out Elena had put her up to it, Christian would be sure to bury them both in the ground.

He showered and dressed in record time, and by the time he was done, Ana hadn't even begun to stir from where she lay in bed. Christian couldn't resist going over to her and sitting on the edge of the bed, running one of his hands along her arm and kissing her gently on the forehead. She hummed adorably in her sleep, hunkering down deeper into the cotton sheets, and Christian practically had to pull himself away from her so he could go to work.

He and Taylor headed over to Grey House together, and they got there a little before 8 o'clock. They walked inside and took the executive elevator up to the top floor - they were halfway up when Taylor suddenly got a call on his cell.

"Hello?" he answered it, frowning. "Reynolds - what's going on?"

Taylor was silent for a few moments as he listened to Reynolds on the other end, and Christian looked at him, waiting to hear what was happening.

"Okay, I'll let him know," Taylor said before hanging up. "It looks like some unauthorized visitors came for you this morning, sir. Reynolds brought them upstairs for you to talk to."

"Was it Elena and Leila?" Christians asked sharply just as the elevator doors opened. He and Taylor immediately stepped out, but froze upon seeing the two people standing near Andrea's desk with several member of GEH security.

"Mr. Grey!" the woman said quickly, stepping forward only to be stopped by Reynolds. "I'm really sorry for dropping in on you like this, but I promise it's important."

Christian stood still, staring at her and then at the man beside her with an incredulous expression on his face. "What the hell is going on?"

He recognized the woman as one of his first submissives - Candace Lane. He hadn't seen her in quite a few years, but she still looked relatively the same except her hair was a bit darker and her skin a bit tanner. She was dressed casually in a white and blue flannel shirt and skinny jeans, and the guy she was with - a tall, dark-haired muscle man - wore a tight white t-shirt and blue jeans. Considering everything that was happening, Christian couldn't help but feel dumbfounded upon seeing these two casually-dressed people here at his corporate office building this morning.

However, after remembering Leila's appearance at the SIP dinner last night, Christian's tolerance for this bullshit was shot out the window.

"Reynolds, what the hell?" Christian turned to his security guy with an angry glare. "How the fuck did these two get inside?"

Before Reynolds could answer, Candace spoke up: "I told you Mr. Grey, we have some information we think you might need."

"It's true," the guy spoke up before Christian could. He spoke in a measured and calm voice, gesturing to Candace. "I'm Dirk, Candace's husband, and I'm aware of the lifestyle you and she had been in together a few years ago. We found out something yesterday we think you need to know."

He sounded sincere, and the emphatic expressions on both his and Candace's faces made Christian relax slightly, though curiosity still reigned. Candace had always been a reasonable woman (far less erratic than Leila, at least), and Christian couldn't help but be inclined to believe her and this guy in whatever they were trying to tell him.

"Reynolds - bring them into my office," Christian said to his security guy after a moment before turning to Candace and Dirk. "I'll give you guys five minutes, and then you have to leave. Any funny business and Taylor will see you out."

Candace and Dirk looked at each other before nodding, and they allowed themselves to be led by Reynolds into his office. Taylor and Christian followed right after.

"Start talking," Christian said without preamble once Taylor closed the door behind them. "Why are you here?"

"I promise you, Mr. Grey, I wouldn't have come unless I thought it was important," Candace began immediately. "I told my husband about what I learned, and he felt it was important for you to know too. We would have called, but I lost your phone number years ago and even if I had called you, you may not have picked up…"

"Why. Are you. Here?" Christian repeated himself slowly, his tone noticeably harder.

Candace hesitated, glancing at Dirk before looking over at Christian again. "I got a phone call from Elena Lincoln last night."

Christian and Taylor glanced at each other, though neither of them said anything.

"I was at work and I wasn't able to answer right away, so she left a voicemail," Candace said, fumbling for her pocket before pulling out her phone. "I have it saved to my phone if you want to listen."

Taylor quickly strode forward, taking the phone Candace handed to him without a word. After pressing a few buttons on it, Elena's voice sounded out over speakerphone:

" _Candace, hello… I'm not sure if you remember me at all, but this is Elena Lincoln. We met a few years ago through our mutual friend Cynthia… I have a very lucrative proposition for you in regards to Christian Grey. I'm sure you remember him, so I hope you'll give me a call back in case you're interested. Talk to you soon - goodbye darling."_

The voicemail ended, and Christian looked up at Candace. "What the hell is she talking about?"

"I wasn't sure at first, so I called her back," Candace explained. "Not because I was interested in what she had to say, though… what I remember about Elena Lincoln, she was an awful woman," Candace furrowed her brow. "I was glad to be rid of her when I left the lifestyle, and I really wasn't interested in being a part of whatever she had to offer. But at the same time, I wanted to know what she was up to if she's contacting me after all these years - so I called her back. We had a very… interesting conversation."

Candace hesitated once again, looking nervous, and the others waited for her to elaborate. "Apparently, Elena is recruiting all of the submissives you've contracted over the years to try and stalk you in an attempt to break up you and your new girlfriend."

There was a short silence after she said, her words seeming to ring throughout Christian's large office.

 _Of fucking course._ Christian let out an exasperated sigh, bringing his hand up and pinching the bridge of his nose. His worst fears about Elena had now been confirmed. "Yeah, we know. We think she's already sent one after us."

Candace's face seemed to fall slightly. "She has?" she asked dejectedly. "I was afraid of that."

"What exactly did Elena say to you?" Christian asked Candace firmly. "When you called her back, what did she say?"

"She said she would give me ten thousand dollars in cash if I could break up you and your girlfriend - she didn't seem to know her name, though. She claimed to have pictures, and she offered me five thousand dollars up front if I agreed right then and there. I told her I would think about it, and she understood that to mean I wasn't interested - she reminded me about the NDA I signed all those years ago, and then quickly hung up."

"Candace told me about that phone call right after it happened, and we agreed that you needed to know," Dirk went on. "Regardless of her NDA."

Christian nodded. "Thank you for telling me this. Is there anything else I need to know?"

Candace shook her head, but Dirk shot her a significant look.

"Yes, there is," he said firmly.

"No there isn't," Candace argued against her husband. "I'm pretty sure he knows that, Dirk."

"What do I know?" Christian asked.

"You don't know that for sure, Candace," Dirk argued back.

"He's out of the lifestyle now, and Elena's super pissed at him. Obviously he knows."

"Can one of you just tell me what the hell you're talking about?" Christian snapped.

Dirk and Candace both exchanged a look before Candace turned back toward Christian, looking wary.

"You know that Elena has been playing you for years, right?"

* * *

 **A/N: To be continued! If you enjoyed that please leave a review :)**

 **Make sure you follow my Pinterest board for this story at www dot pinterest dot com/strawpaj/the-price-of-love/**


	7. Hard Times Ahead

**A/N: Thank you for all your reviews and support! Here's the next chapter for you.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Hard Times Ahead**

 **CPOV**

" _You know that Elena's been playing you for years, right?"_

Christian stared at Candace for a moment, at a loss for words. He blinked before shaking his head, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Elena found submissives for you, correct?" Candace asked, and Christian nodded. "Do you know exactly how she found them?"

Christian grimaced, not particularly enjoying these questions. "Not necessarily. I know she has a lot of connections in the BDSM world - I figured she just asked around."

Candace shook her head, however. "No, she never had to look for subs - people came to _her_. Back when I was looking for a dom, everyone said that Elena was the one to go to. Every sub, dom and domme in the Washington state area knew that Elena had the highest level of connections… namely, to the best dom in North America."

Christian stared at her, flabbergasted. "Me?"

Candace nodded, looking almost surprised at his confusion. "You really don't know how much you're marketed as a dom in the BDSM community?"

Christian said nothing, though he felt like the bottom of his stomach had fallen away. Exactly how deep did Elena Lincoln's influence go? Christian's expression must have reflected his feelings, because Dirk turned his glare onto his wife.

"I told you he didn't know," he said angrily. "You know that Elena's been keeping this from him! You can't assume things like that."

"Well I'm sorry, I thought he had already found out the truth…!" Candace began heatedly, but Christian interrupted her:

"Will you please just tell what the hell you're talking about?" he snapped. "What do you mean I'm 'marketed' as a dom? How the hell would Elena be able to do that?"

"She has information on you," Candace explained to him. "About all your proclivities, what you like in a sub, even how they need to look - brown hair and pale skin. She knows all of that about you, and she makes it so that it's very exclusive information you have to pay out of pocket in order to get."

"What?" Christian asked, bewildered. "Those things should be standard information found in a regular dossier. Subs shouldn't have to pay for my info."

"But a lot of subs _would_ pay for information if they thought it was going to land them the greatest dom in the country," Candace pointed out. "Elena developed a reputation for you, and she profited off every bit of it."

"Okay, so how much did _you_ pay for my dossier?" Christian asked Candace, and she sighed, slipping one hand in her back pocket while running the other hand through her dark hair.

"Too much," she said simply, bringing her hand down and shoving it in her other back pocket. "Although not nearly as much as some other subs I know. Last I heard, Elena has been charging girls five thousand bucks apiece to get access to your information, and that's not even including the treatments."

"Treatments?" Christian asked, confused.

"A lot of the subs Elena tries to recruit aren't natural brunettes," Dirk explained before Candace could, and Christian looked over at him. "She looks for submissives with different colored hair or naturally tan skin. Once they pay Elena for your information, however, and they find out what you really like, then they realize they need to change some things in order for you to notice them. So they pay even _more_ money to go get their hair dyed or their skin bleached."

Christian stared at them in shock, feeling as if he were going to be sick. "At Esclava?"

"She has a special discount for submissives," Candace nodded, though she frowned as she did so. "Ten percent off all beauty treatments… as if that's supposed to make up for the fact she's gouging them for money."

Christian didn't say anything, and he turned to stare down at the floor as he tried to process this information. He had always known Elena wasn't necessarily the most honest person around - hell, being heavily involved with a lifestyle like BDSM didn't exactly make a person squeaky clean. But whatever Elena did with her time at the club Christian had never thought involved him or his proclivities. She just found subs for him whenever he was looking for a new one… but now it became clear that that was all she was doing. In fact, she was counting on him looking for new subs in order for her to make money!

"…And now she knows I'm seeing someone outside the lifestyle," Christian finished his thought out loud, almost to himself.

"More importantly, the whole world knows that you're seeing somebody," Candace corrected. "There have already been articles written about you and your new girlfriend, not to mention photographic evidence from the _Seattle Nooz_. It was only a matter of time before the BDSM community found out that you were now exclusive with someone and that submissives now had very little chance of contracting with you."

A fleeting feeling of satisfaction overtook Christian - he was happy Ana had come into his life when she did so that Elena's manipulative game could come to an end. However, it really looked like Elena didn't want to give up without a fight.

"How long have you known about all of this?" Christian asked Candace after a moment, his voice measured. He looked up at her in time to see her exchange a glance with Dirk.

"I don't know… I still have some friends who are in the lifestyle that I talk to," she explained. "A few of them, including myself, had paid Elena her fee for your information at some point. Plus, I also knew just from general hearsay… like I said, you're kind of famous in the BDSM community."

"I was a part of that community for years," Christian said tersely, feeling anger rising inside of him. "How have I not heard about any of this? This is my fucking life - how the hell could I have been kept in the dark about this?"

"I don't know," Candace said again, looking a bit surprised at his vitriol. "It's just… submissives were really the only ones who talked about you amongst themselves. And from what I understand, you've really only practiced the lifestyle in the privacy of your home in your playroom, so you haven't been to a lot of clubs in recent years…"

But Christian was barely listening. The fact that Elena - someone he had considered a friend for many years - had actually been profiting off of him the entire time behind his back. Manipulating him and marketing him like he was just a showpiece for her amusement…

"This was my life," Christian growled, his anger building in a crescendo inside of him. "This was _my fucking life_ , and she's just been _using_ me… for her FUCKING BANK ACCOUNT!"

He suddenly stormed over to his end table and grabbed an empty whiskey glass, chucking it as hard as he could into the far corner wall of his office and smashing it into a million pieces. He hardly heard the startled gasps from behind him as reached up and tugged his hair, breathing hard through his nose as he tried to calm himself.

" _It was my life…_ " he ground out through clenched teeth, squeezing his eyes shut.

 _How could she do this to me?_

* * *

 **APOV**

Ana woke up alone in Christian's bed that morning, which was common on workdays - Christian always went to work very early each morning, and if he wasn't going to GEH, he was in his home office or out for a run with Taylor. Ana would usually just stay in bed until her alarm clock eventually woke her up for work, not particularly keen on waking up at an ungodly early hour.

As Ana got up and went to go take a shower in the en suite, her mind drifted to last night, when she learned about the existence of two people in Christian's life she wished she didn't have to know about. Leila and Elena… Ana could feel anger and disgust building inside of her just at the mere thought of those two. However, while Leila seemed like she could potentially cause more problems, Elena was the one who really worried Ana the most - this woman had actually been finding submissives for Christian for years. In a weird way, it almost sounded like Elena had had a strange sort of control over his life back when he was involved in BDSM.

Plus, Christian did mention she had been the one to introduce him to the lifestyle in the first place. That meant the nature of their relationship went far deeper than Ana ever cared to know.

 _Christ, I hate this._

Ana shook her head, trying to clear her mind of these bad thoughts. She and Christian would talk more about this development at some point in the coming days, but right now she had to get ready for work.

After showering and getting dressed in one of the work outfits she had left in Christian's walk-in closet, Ana was ready to go. Christian had initially wanted to buy her a whole new wardrobe, but Ana refused - she felt strange accepting such an extravagant gift from her boyfriend, although privately she was delighted he wanted her to keep clothes at his place. That meant he liked having her around.

After getting dressed in a white shirt, pink cardigan and black dress pants with pointy toe pumps, Ana went downstairs to grab a quick breakfast before heading out. Just as she passed through the great room into the kitchen, however, she saw Gail standing at the counter on her cell phone, looking worried.

"…Well, have you called Dr. Trevelyan? I'm sure she could help," Gail said, and then paused as she listened. "Okay… well, at least get the others out of there…"

Gail turned and noticed Ana standing nearby, her eyes widening. "Jason, hold on," she said into the phone before addressing Ana. "Ana, something's happened with Mr. Grey at his office - Jason says he's in a bad way."

"What happened? Is he hurt?" Ana asked urgently, her heart pounding.

"No… Jason said he apparently found out some bad information and he's had a breakdown of sorts," Gail said worriedly. "I don't know what happened, though. Do you know what it could be?"

Ana had a sick feeling in her gut that told her this had something to do with what happened last night, and without a word she turned and hurried toward the foyer where the elevators were.

"Ana?" Gail called after her uncertainly.

"I'm going to GEH to see," Ana said over her shoulder, hitting the down button beside the elevator shaft. "I'll call my office and say I'm running late. I'll let you know if anything happens."

The doors slid open, and Ana stepped inside, hoping Christian could just hang on until she got there.

* * *

Once at GEH, Ana checked in at the security desk and was immediately allowed clearance to the top floor - the security men had already been briefed on her apparently. Ana rode the elevator up with several other businessmen and women, trying not to feel too nervous about what she was going to see when she reached the top.

The doors finally opened at the top floor, and Ana stepped out, immediately spotting Taylor standing outside Christian's office doors with two other people she didn't recognize. Taylor spotted her as walked over, and the look of surprise and relief on his face was visible even from a distance.

"Ms. Steele," he said gratefully once she approached them. "I'm glad you're here."

"Where is he?" Ana asked immediately, and Taylor gestured to the office doors behind him.

"He's in his office, ma'am - he's in a bad way," he added. "Just be careful."

Ana didn't say anything as she passed him and the other two people nearby to open the office doors and step inside.

After only a couple steps in, Ana froze. Shattered glass, broken coffee mugs, and office supplies littered the large area. A couple of his end tables, coffee tables and chairs had been upturned and tossed across the room, and the broken remains of what looked like a BlackBerry lay near the doorway. Amongst this disaster stood Christian, facing the floor-to-ceiling window while leaning against it with his forearms above his head, his copper head bowed down. Ana felt her heart break when she saw him.

 _Oh baby, what happened to you?_

"Christian?"

Christian turned around at the sound of his name, and his distraught eyes landed on Ana standing in the doorway. The two of them gazed at each other for a few moments, communicating silently through their eyes, and suddenly they were walking toward each other across the debris-ridden floor. In a moment, Ana had her arms wrapped protectively around him, one hand in his hair and the other on his upper back, and he immediately buried his face in the crook of her neck, wrapping his arms around her waist in a vice-like grip.

For a moment they just stood there, holding each other close, and Ana distinctly heard Christian let out short breaths, as if he were trying to hold back tears.

"Baby, what happened?" Ana whispered, running her hand soothingly through his hair.

"I-I thought… " he muttered against her before breaking off. "I thought I was in control… but, it was her… for years, it was always her…"

Ana had no idea what the hell he was talking about, but before she could ask him, someone else spoke up:

"We're sorry," a woman said from the doorway, and Ana looked around to see the two strangers she had passed by on her way in here standing on the threshold - a man wearing a white t-shirt and a dark-haired woman in flannel. Both of them looked at Christian with an expression of deep concern and guilt.

"Who are you?" Ana asked them with a frown.

"We're nobody - we were just leaving," the woman said quickly, grasping the man's arm and pulling him with her back through the doorway. "We're sorry for intruding."

The two of them left, leaving just Taylor standing just beyond the doorway. He walked inside before closing the door behind him.

"Taylor, what the hell did those two do to him?" Ana asked urgently, still holding a repose Christian in her arms.

"They didn't do anything," Taylor said, walking toward her. "They just came with some disturbing news about Elena, which is what caused… all of this to happen."

"Jesus," Ana murmured, holding Christian tighter against her body. "What did they say?"

"From what I understand, Elena's been secretly selling Mr. Grey's information in the BDSM community for a profit," Taylor explained. "That woman who just left - she used to be Christian's submissive, and she was telling us how Elena had contacted her last night and about how she's trying to recruit all of his past submissives in order to break up you two and seduce him back to the lifestyle."

Ana gaped at him in horror. "All so she can keep making money off of him?"

Taylor pressed his lips together before nodding. "Yes."

Ana said nothing, though she felt sick to her stomach as she processed all this information. She understood Christian's freakout now - being lied to and manipulated by someone for so many years, especially someone considered to be a friend, is a horrible thing to find out. And for a man like Christian, who needed control in every aspect of his life, this information would be especially devastating.

Ana suddenly felt a vitriolic hatred for this Elena woman burn inside of her - the fact that she had hurt Christian so much, and was now conspiring to break up his new relationship, was too much to handle. Ana was not going to just lay down and take it - when it came to Christian and their relationship, she would fight tooth and nail. Of that much she was sure.

Christian still clung tightly to Ana, still seeking her comfort, and Ana hugged him tighter, wanting to reassure him.

"She won't win, Christian," she whispered to him firmly. "I promise you - we will end her."

 _Game on, bitch._

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that chapter! If you did, please leave a review.**

 **Make sure you follow my Pinterest board for this story at www dot pinterest dot com/strawpaj/the-price-of-love/**


	8. Draw the Line

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Draw the Line**

 **CPOV**

 _ **From the desk of Christian Trevelyan Grey**_

 _To Whom it May Concern,_

 _Our records state that you have agreed to and signed a non-disclosure agreement provided by_ _ **Mr. Christian Trevelyan Grey**_ _on the date of _ __ _ **, 20_.**_ _The purpose of this letter is to restate that the stipulations of your non-disclosure agreement will remain in effect until the contract is terminated at the behest of Mr. Grey and his legal team. Any violation of your non-disclosure agreement - namely, in communicating matters within the agreement to a person or persons outside of said agreement - will be considered a violation of your contract and will result in swift and immediate legal action. We advise you to review and follow the stipulations of your contract so as to avoid any future violations._

 _Kindly respond back to this email within 10 business days as confirmation that you have received this as a written warning and understand its implications. If we do not hear back from you within the 10-day timeframe from the date this email was sent, we will be forced to pursue further action against you._

 _Sincerely._

 _Christian Grey  
_ _Grey Enterprise Holdings LLC  
_ _Seattle, WA_

The moment Christian felt okay enough to take action, he immediately had his legal team write up this email to be sent to all of his remaining submissives, changing only the dates of when each one had contracted with him. He figured a formal warning like this would scare them all into leaving him and Ana alone while ensuring the two of them wouldn't run into another "Leila" situation in public again.

Despite Christian insisting that he was okay now, Ana had decided to take the day off of work to stay with him at GEH. She was clearly worried about him, which with anyone else Christian would had been annoyed about, but a part of him kind of liked that Ana cared enough about him to stick around for the day. She was on board with Christian's decision of sending written warnings to all of his past submissives - however, like Christian, she had no idea what to do with regards to Elena. She was as horrified and disgusted as he was upon learning what that woman had been doing to him all these years, but figuring out what they could do to get back at her was a whole different story.

"She's obviously much more conniving than I had previously thought," Christian said as Taylor drove him and Ana back to Escala that evening. "Whatever information I have on her, she probably has something worse on me - and she wouldn't be afraid to use it on me if necessary."

"I'm almost afraid to ask…" Ana began hesitantly, and Christian looked over at her. "But what exactly is your connection to this Elena woman?"

Christian didn't say anything for a moment, though his heart pounded loudly in his chest and expression remained troubled. "I already told you what my connection is to her," he said evasively.

"No, you just alluded to it," she countered. "I don't know anything about how you two know each other or what influence she's had on you or even why she feels she can market you in the BDSM world the way that she has. But the more I know about her the more I'll be able to help you bring her down and make sure she never gets her dirty claws on you ever again."

Hearing the protectiveness in her voice made Christian smile slightly. "You're right, baby, but can we wait until we get to my place? This isn't a conversation we need to have in the backseat of a car, and I think we're both going to want a drink while I tell it to you."

Ana agreed, and the two of them rode the rest of the way back to Escala in amicable silence. Christian felt nervous as hell at what he was about to tell Ana, but part of him knew it was inevitable - he just hoped she wouldn't be so disgusted and horrified by what he was going to tell her that she would leave him forever.

They arrived at Escala much sooner than Christian would have liked, and after gathering up their things, they rode the elevator up to the penthouse together and went into the kitchen where Gail had left dinner for them. The whole apartment was filled with the delicious scent of pasta carbonara, and Ana plated it up for each of them as Christian selected a red wine to go with it.

"Start talking, Grey," Ana said once she sat at the breakfast bar and Christian had poured her a generous portion of Cabernet Sauvignon. "What exactly is your relationship with Elena?"

Christian sighed, pouring himself a large glass of wine before sitting down across from her. "It's not a very fun story, Ana."

"I'm aware of that, but I feel like the sooner you tell it to me the better. There's no use dragging it out too long."

Christian sighed, knowing she was right. He idly picked at his pasta with his fork. "Elena Lincoln was a friend of my mother's when I was growing up. They both ran in the same social circles, and they were a part of a lot of the same charities, so naturally they spent a lot of time together. During the summers when I was a teenager, my mother actually had me out doing yard work at her and her husband's estate… and then one summer, she and I hooked up and started an affair."

Ana looked rightfully disgusted. "God, Christian - she was married! How old were you?"

Christian grimaced uncomfortably. "Fifteen."

Ana's look of disgust immediately morphed into horror as she stared at him for a few moments. "I'm sorry, _what_? You were fifteen?!"

Christian nodded, his expression grim. "I know, it's awful to hear about years later, but at the time I was a horny teenage boy and she was a hot older lady who came on to me. I never really stood a chance."

"She's a pedophile!" Ana spat. "And you told me she introduced you to BDSM - you're telling me she tied you up, beat you and fucked you all while you were an underage child?"

Christian furrowed his brow. "Well, when you say it like that, it sounds horrible - but that was only one side of it. I was an out-of-control teenager, Ana… I drank and got in fights and got expelled from four different schools, all before I was even a junior in high school. As sick as it sounds, Elena introducing me to BDSM was a good thing - she was able to teach me discipline and control, while also helping me work through my touch issues. Plus, I was able to start focusing more on my studies before entering Harvard once I graduated."

Ana gave him a commiserating look, her expression making it clear how uncomfortable she was with that explanation. "Christian…"

"I know," Christian said quickly. "Hearing it now, it sounds awful… but it was what it was. I can't change the past."

Ana let out a huff, looking down at the table. "Does anyone else know about this? Your family? You said your mother and Elena were friends."

"No, nobody knows about it," Christian said, shaking his head. "My family least of all, and Elena knows that. She can threaten to expose me to them if she wants."

"How can she expose you?" Ana asked, dumbfounded. "She's the one who molested you - she's implicated in it too!"

"That may be, but I'm more recognized than she is in the Seattle business world - that information going public could ruin me and my business," Christian explained, sounding serious. "I'd look like a victim, and even though she would look bad too, I'll the be the one taking the heat."

Ana didn't say anything for a moment, though her brow was furrowed as she tried to digest this information. She grimaced slightly before letting out a small sigh. "I hate the idea of her getting to you that way… there has to be a way we can get to her first."

Christian knew she was right, but his heart rate inexplicably picked up when he noticed her phrasing. "'We'?" he asked, almost hopefully.

Ana looked up at him for a moment before gently getting to her feet and moving around the breakfast counter so she was directly in front of him. "Yes, 'we'," she said definitively, putting her arms around his neck while his hands went to her waist. "That horrible woman isn't going to scare me off, Christian… she's an abuser, and you were her victim. She never helped you as a teenager… you do realize that, right? All she did was control you and hurt you, both physically and mentally."

Christian sighed, tugging her a bit closer to him. "My therapist thinks so too, and a few weeks ago I probably would have argued with both of you about that. But now I'm starting to see the truth - I was always just a part of her sick, twisted manipulative game." Christian's voice hardened, and he gripped Ana's waist tightly in his hands. "But not anymore… I'm going to take her down, by any means necessary. She'll regret the day she thought marketing me like a piece of meat would be a good idea."

He sounded deadly serious, and Ana had to practically pry his hands off her waist so she could take a step back. "Christian, I hate her for what she did to you too, but we need to be smart about this… Elena's clearly pissed off that she's losing business, and I know she'll do whatever it takes to regain her losses."

"I know," Christian said, and he sighed. "As much as I want to strangle her right now, there's nothing we can do to her at the moment. Although I'm going to hire some extra security for the both of us just to be safe. I wouldn't be able to stand it if she did something to you because of me."

Ana couldn't help but smile slightly, stepping forward again so she could wrap her arms around Christian's neck again. "I'm not going anywhere, Mr. Grey."

Christian smiled before leaning forward and capturing her lips with his own, kissing her fervently. After a few moments, Christian stood up and wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her up so her legs wrapped around his midriff. Without a word, he began to carry her upstairs toward his bedroom, making his intentions perfectly clear.

He needed to forget about everything going on - about Elena and the submissives and his checkered past. Ana was the only one who could help him forget, who could heal him and make him feel whole again.

She was all he needed, and that was all that she could give to him.

* * *

 **Saturday**

Thankfully, by the end of the week, every single one of Christian's ex-submissives had responded to his written warning via email. A lot of them (like Candace) immediately came forward and stated outright what Elena was trying to get them to do - Christian felt gratified that at least some of these women had the respect and decency to be honest with him. Some of them were a little short with their replies to him, and the last sub to respond was Leila. It was clearly out of extreme reluctance when she eventually did respond, and it was obvious she had no remorse whatsoever for crashing Ana's company dinner event. Christian and Taylor made the decision to have her watched, just to be safe.

Christian and Ana now had additional security with them wherever they went, but it seemed unnecessary since neither of them had heard a peep from Elena since they found out what she'd been up to. Christian wasn't about to take any chances though - Elena was conniving, and he was sure she was going to try to plan something in order to win back her losses. He needed to prepare for any eventuality.

It was finally the weekend, however, and Ana was going to be staying over at Escala with him for two days straight. Christian had pushed any work he had been planning to do that weekend to Monday so he could spend a nice "staycation" with his girl without any interruptions from the outside world. He would make sure no work or any overhanging worries of Elena would interrupt their day.

"'Morning baby," Ana said sleepily, walking into the kitchen at a quarter to ten with her brown hair tied up in a messy bun and one of Christian's button up shirts covering her delectable body, the bottom of the shirt barely reaching the middle of her thighs. Christian smiled when he saw her, gesturing to the breakfast bar where there was a delicious spread of scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, crispy bacon, fruit salad, buttered toast, tea and coffee.

"Happy Saturday, beautiful," Christian said as Ana approached, and he wrapped his arms around her, leaning down to kiss her on her sweet lips. "What do you think?"

"This all looks amazing," Ana smiled widely, wrapping her arms around Christian's waist as she gazed at the delicious food before them. "Remind me to thank Gail for this when I see her."

Christian couldn't help but chuckle, shaking his head. "Nothing gets by you, baby."

Ana jokingly rolled her eyes before moving up on her tiptoes and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "This looks delicious, sweetie. Let's dig in."

The two of them piled their plates with food before sitting down together in the great room, eating breakfast while talking about their past week. None of their conversation strayed to Elena or Christian's ex-submissives, and they stayed on topics like work, family and friends. It was a very enjoyable way to spend a morning, and Christian felt he would be satisfied if he and Ana could do this every day.

Christian was planning on telling Ana he loved her sometime soon, possibly this weekend - after contemplating it for several weeks, and having several sessions about it with Flynn, Christian felt that now was the time to lay out all his feelings for her. With all this craziness with Elena, he just wanted to know where Ana's head was at in this relationship. If she was honestly too freaked out about everything to be with him anymore, he'd have his answer.

He just hoped telling her how he felt would be worth the risk.

"You done, baby?" Christian asked the moment Ana put down her fork. She didn't get a chance to answer as Christian suddenly took her by the wrist and tugged her so she was straddling his lap.

"Christian!" Ana squealed, placing her hands on his shoulders as his hands grasped her waist. He leaned forward and began nipping along her jaw, his intentions clear. "You want to... here?"

Christian chuckled, noticing the pink blush that covered her cheeks. "Shy, baby?"

Ana didn't answer with words, but instead brought her lips down to his own and captured them in a fervent kiss. Christian kissed her back, pulling her body flush against his and grinding his erection into her center. Ana moaned against his lips, her hands moving up to tangle in his hair…

"Sir."

Ana jumped away from Christian as if given a shock - she scrambled back to her place beside him on the couch, her face burning red as Taylor approached them from the foyer. If he was embarrassed having caught them in their heavy make-out session, he didn't show it.

"What is it, Taylor?" Christian asked, his tone making it clear he wasn't happy with the interruption.

"Mrs. Lincoln is in the lobby requesting to come up, sir."

Christian's stomach immediately sank, and he groaned. "Fucking hell."

"Elena's here?" Ana asked disbelievingly, looking between Christian and Taylor.

"Apparently," Christian grit out angrily. "The fucking nerve of her… Taylor, tell her to go away."

"No," Ana said after a moment. Christian looked at her as she straightened up in her seat, a determined glint in her blue eyes. "Bring her up here."

"Baby," Christian began, gazing at her with a frown on his face. "I don't think that's a good idea. Are you sure you want to confront her right now?"

"Why not? We'll be able to find out what she knows and what she's going to be planning next. Plus, her seeing me here with you right now will piss her off," Ana added, and Christian couldn't help but grin. "We should take advantage of this opportunity."

"Good point," Christian said, turning back to Taylor. "Send her up, Taylor."

"Yes, sir."

Taylor walked back to the elevator in the foyer as Christian gathered up his and Ana's empty dishes to quickly take back to the kitchen. After a few seconds, he heard the ding of the elevator and the clicking of Elena's heels across the marble as she walked toward the great room.

"Christian, darling, I was hoping I could -"

Elena stopped mid-sentence, her footsteps halting the moment she saw Ana sitting alone in the great room, still wearing Christian's button-up shirt. There was a moment or two of silence as the two women stared at each other.

"Elena," Christian spoke up from the kitchen, and Elena looked over at him. "What brings you here?"

He walked back over to where Ana was, his eyes still on Elena. Her face conveyed a plethora of emotions - mostly anger mixed with shock and disgust. She tried to hide it, however, as she took a deep breath and forced a smile.

"I wanted to discuss something with you this morning, dear, but I wasn't aware you had… company," she said, shooting Ana an ill-disguised look of disgust. "May we go into another room to talk?"

"Whatever you want to say to me, you can say in front of Anastasia," Christian said firmly, sitting down beside Ana again.

"...The matter is of a sensitive nature," Elena said after a moment, glancing between Christian and Ana. "I wouldn't feel comfortable talking about it in front of someone who hasn't signed an NDA."

"Too bad - you have nothing to say to me, and Taylor will see you out," Christian replied, picking up his cup of coffee from the coffee table and taking a sip. Ana looked as if she were fighting back a smirk.

Elena stared at him for a second before seeming to draw herself up slightly, her expression turning into a glare, "I just wanted to know, Christian, if you've been in contact with any of your old submissives recently."

A tense silence followed after she said that. Christian returned her glare, knowing what she was trying to do. Nobody said anything for several seconds.

"If he has, it's none of your business," Ana finally spoke up, glaring right at Elena as she did so. Her voice was firm and confident, and Christian couldn't help but feel a swell of love and appreciation fill his heart upon hearing Ana stand up for him.

Elena looked flabbergasted upon hearing Ana say that, but recovered quickly. "Well, it seems as if Christian has filled you in on more than I anticipated," Elena said to Ana snidely. "But it _is_ my business if he's been in contact with his old submissives - those were all girls that _I_ had found for him, and I need to be notified by any changes there may be in their contracts…"

"Bullshit, Elena," Christian snapped angrily, and she turned to look at him. "You were just scared they were going to tell me what you've been trying to get them to do for you."

Another tense silence descended upon everyone in the room, and Elena clearly tried to hide her discomposure after he said that. She straightened up slightly, moving a stray piece of hair away from her face.

"Well… apparently I just got my answer," she said stiffly, throwing a disgusted glance over at Ana. "I admit my method of contacting your old subs to break up you two was a little sloppy, but can you blame me? This whole business with you trying out a little girlfriend has gone far enough, Christian - you and I both know you don't belong in this type of relationship. Only the BDSM lifestyle offers you what you need, and deep down you know that."

" _Deep down_ , I know that I shouldn't trust a single word that comes out of your mouth, Elena," Christian countered immediately, getting to his feet. "Me leaving the lifestyle has been bad for business, hasn't it? Or would you like me to tell you exactly how much I know what you've been doing, trying to market me like a piece of meat?"

Elena had maintained a reasonable poker face, but Christian saying that caused her to falter slightly. She took a step back, staring up at him in disbelief. "Wha… how…?"

"You thought you could hide it from me forever?" Christian snapped angrily. "You thought I would never find out? You're deplorable, Elena - you are a sick, twisted self-serving pedophile who I should have never trusted for a single second. Get out of my home before I have Taylor throw you out!"

Elena didn't say anything for several seconds, only staring up at Christian with a look in her eyes that conveyed defiance. "You'd have ended up dead or in a prison cell if it wasn't for me," she said in a low, angry voice. "I saved your life, and I deserved every cent I made off of you over the years!"

Christian's eyes flashed, his expression livid. "TAYLOR!" he shouted loudly, and in a split second Taylor had appeared, grasping Elena by her arms and dragging her roughly toward the elevators. Elena didn't say a word as Taylor took her away, though her eyes remained on Christian until she disappeared into the foyer.

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! The drama has certainly begun - if you liked this chapter, please leave a review!**

 **Make sure you check out my Pinterest board for this story. This URL is www dot pinterest dot com/strawpaj/the-price-of-love/**


	9. No Stone Unturned

**A/N: Thank you for all your reviews and support! Here's the next chapter for you.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: No Stone Unturned**

 **CPOV**

Ana had spent the rest of the weekend with Christian at Escala, and their time together was amazing as always, but the impromptu visit from Elena was clearly still in the forefront of their minds. Christian didn't even get a chance to tell Ana he loved her over the weekend - Elena's appearance had more or less killed his chance to do so. He wanted to do it soon, however, even though right now clearly wasn't the time.

 _Fucking Elena._

Neither Christian nor Ana had any idea what Elena was going to try to do next, and that was a scary thought - all Christian could do was take as many precautionary measures he thought were necessary. He and Taylor had met with Sawyer on Sunday afternoon, and they all agreed the best course of action would be to beef up security even more, adding more men to watch over his family in addition to him and Ana. Elena was likely going to try to get back at Christian through his family, and he would be damned if he would let that horrible woman sink her claws into them, even if she was still technically friends with his mother.

Christian telling his family about his old lifestyle had never been in the cards before, but now it seemed like he would have no choice but to tell them the truth. Elena was likely going to use everything in her arsenal to try to bring Christian and Ana down, but he would be taking away a lot of her power if he came clean to his parents about his past. He just needed to figure out the best time and manner in which to do it.

Christian woke up early Monday morning, feeling unusually sated as Ana's soft naked body pressed up against his bare chest. He ran his nose along the curve of her neck, inhaling her uniquely alluring scent as he roused from his sleep, trying to push down the more unpleasant thoughts of Elena that had been plaguing him all weekend. It seemed to be working, because the next moment, Ana woke up too, stirring slightly before rolling onto her back, blinking blearily as she saw Christian hovering over her.

"Mm… 'morning baby," she murmured, her voice sounding adorably sleepy. Christian's cock twitched.

"Good morning, beautiful," Christian whispered back, leaning down and capturing her lips with his own. Their tender, good morning kiss quickly escalated in passion, and the next moment they were practically mauling each other, hands and lips and tongues moving over each other in feverish desperation.

"I want you," Christian breathed, nipping his teeth along Ana's jawline and causing her to hum in pleasure. "Turn over on your side."

Ana moaned again before obediently rolling over so she was on her side, her back facing Christian, and Christian moved so that her back was pulled flush against his chest. With a groan, he slid his hand up her hip and along her ribcage before palming her breast, pinching her nipple between his fingers. She gasped at the sensation.

"Christian," she moaned, bringing her hand up to his hair and gripping it tightly with her fingers. Christian groaned into the skin of her neck, pinching her nipple one more time before slowly sliding his hand down her body along her stomach and down to her pussy. "Oh God!"

Ana arched her body against his hand, her fingers tugging relentlessly at his hair as her pleasure built. After a few seconds of Christian rubbing her wet center, he slid his hand over so he could grip her thigh and lift it up, opening her legs enough for him to slip his dick through the apex of her thighs.

"Oh fuck," Christian grit out as he pushed himself deeply inside of her, and Ana let out a prolonged moan, her arousal evident as she ground her body into his dick. Christian slowly slid out of her tight heat before pushing back into her again, grasping her leg tighter and lifting it up more so he could fuck her at a better angle. "Shit, Ana…"

"Christian," Ana moaned, her beautiful tits bouncing as Christian pounded into her from behind. "You feel so good…"

"Fuck, you're so tight like this," Christian groaned, grinding into her hard as her pussy gripped him. "Shit."

"Oh God, Christian…!" Ana squeaked, finally removing her hand from his hair and bringing it down to grip the sheets in front of her. "I'm so close…"

"Come for me, baby," Christian hissed, his hips thrusting into her at a frenetic pace. As if on cue, Ana erupted around him, crying out as she shuddered and gripped the bedsheets tightly in her fists. Her orgasm triggered Christian's, and he suddenly stilled against her, emptying himself into her tight wet heat with a clenched-teeth growl. After a moment, Christian let Ana's leg fall down against his hip, and for a moment or two they lay on the bed panting, exhausted and sated from that impromptu morning fuck.

"…God, I needed that," Christian after a few seconds, still a bit breathless, and Ana let out a giggle which turned into a moan as he slowly pulled out of her. He tugged her so she rolled onto her back again. "You're so fucking perfect, baby."

"You're not so bad yourself, Grey," Ana grinned, her heavy eyelids fluttering as she looked up at him with evident desire. Christian felt a familiar tenderness grip his heart as he gazed down at her, and those three little words he desperately wanted to say to her danced on the end of his tongue. Now wasn't the right time, though… he instead leaned down and kissed her feverishly on the lips, conveying without words how deeply his feelings went for her.

"…We should get ready for work," Christian whispered reluctantly after a minute or so of indulging in his girl. He pulled away, and Ana's beautiful blue eyes blinked open and gazed up at him longingly, looking just as reluctant to pull herself away.

"Okay," she said with an adorable pout on her face. Christian smiled at her before pecking her one last time on the nose and finally getting up out of bed to get ready for the day.

* * *

Christian arrived at Grey House close to eight o'clock that morning, his mind trying to pull away from his lovely Anastasia naked in his bed as he attempted to focus on all the work he had to do today. On top of his usual meetings and day-to-day busywork, he and Ros were contending with the recent departure of one of their senior acquisitions directors. Joe Baxter was an older guy who had been close to retirement anyway, but his resignation three months ago had left Christian and Ros scrambling to find his replacement as well as get a handle on all the work he'd left behind. Until they could find someone qualified enough, though, they both had to take care of all the work Baxter had left them, which was tedious and frustrating as hell. It was necessary, though, as Christian and Ros both knew well enough.

On top of all that, Christian really wanted to do something today regarding Esclava, Elena's salon which GEH was a silent partner in. Since he had recently found out she was making a lot of money marketing him in the BDSM world, it stood to reason that she would try to launder that money through her salon. If he could prove she was committing fraud by doing that, he could take down her company and even get her thrown into federal prison, ruining her before she had a chance to ruin him and Ana. Christian was therefore eager to start the auditing process as soon as possible, preferably today if Welch could manage it.

Christian got to the twentieth floor, seeing Andrea and Olivia at their usual places at the front desk. He greeted them both before asking for his morning mail and a cup of black coffee as he headed into his office. He then settled into his desk and powered on his computer, logging on to his email just as Olivia came in with his mail and coffee. He noticed her bending forward suggestively as she set his things in front of him, and he resisted rolling his eyes when she turned around and walked away slowly, swaying her hips in a way that was meant to capture his attention. Thankfully, Ros walked in a moment later, carrying a file folder in her hand.

"'Morning Christian," she greeted him, stopping to hold the door for Olivia, who was still taking her sweet time. "Chop chop, Blandino," Ros said in a firm voice, raising an impatient eyebrow at her, and Olivia blushed embarrassedly before quickly scurrying through the door. Ros shut it behind her with an eyeroll.

"Thank you," Christian said gratefully. "What's up?"

"More Baxter stuff," she sighed, walking toward his desk, her expression grim. "This one is a problem."

"What is it?" Christian sighed, glancing at his watch. He hoped they would be able to wrap this up so he could talk to Welch about Esclava sometime before noon.

"I finally made it through all of his clients, up until the very last acquisition he signed off on," Ros explained, holding up the file folder in her hand. "This one."

"Okay," Christian said slowly, accepting the folder from her when she handed it to him. "What's wrong with it?"

Ros let out a sigh, moving to sit in the chair directly across from Christian. Her normal fun-loving disposition was looking rather grim at the moment, and she brought one hand up to rub her temple. "Before I go on, can you just look over that file and confirm that you had nothing to do with that acquisition?"

Christian frowned at her before opening the file and glancing over it. It was just a small consulting firm called Robinson Corporation out in Montana - GEH had apparently acquired them a few months ago after their CEO retired. Christian just shook his head, looking back up at Ros in confusion.

"What's the problem here? I didn't have to sign off on this - Baxter was the one who handled all these smaller acquisitions while you and I dealt with the bigger ones. It's always been like that - why are you so concerned about this one?"

Ros grimaced, bringing her hand down from her temple and looking Christian square in the eye. "Because Robinson Corporation doesn't exist."

Christian stared back at her, his heart seeming to stop beating in his chest. He glanced down at the file again before looking back up at Ros. "…What?"

"I've been reviewing this file all weekend, Christian, and I can't find any concrete evidence that Robinson Corporation even exists," Ros said firmly, getting to her feet and starting to pace the area in front of Christian's desk. "All the report says is that it's a consulting firm in Montana, and that's it - it doesn't even say who or what they consult for! The address listed is just a PO Box, there's no forwarding email address, and the phone number listed just put me in touch with an insurance company which referred me to an agency that put me in touch with a completely different consulting firm."

"Did you try getting in touch with Baxter about it? Maybe he has the right information," Christian suggested.

"I've tried reaching him, but he's nowhere to be found. Apparently he and his wife are spending their retirement somewhere in the Caribbean, but that's about all I know."

Christian swallowed as his mind went to all the worst possible scenarios. He and Ros simply gazed at each other, silently agreeing on the conclusion they both had come up which was written all over their faces.

"…You're thinking this company is a shell corporation used for laundering money," Christian stated, not bothering to pose it as a question.

Ros nodded, her face pale and glum. "I didn't want to believe it… I wished more than anything it wasn't true… but it's the only thing that makes any sense. Baxter suddenly left around the same time he signed off on this - this must have been the reason why."

Christian stared down at the file in his hands, his thoughts running a mile a minute as he tried to wrap his mind around the situation they were in. "No, that doesn't make sense," he said after a moment, getting to his feet and starting to pace, thinking hard. "If Baxter was laundering money through this corporation, why did he leave GEH right after? Why didn't he stay so he could reap the rewards of the money he was laundering?"

"I don't know - maybe he got cold feet before he got a chance to do anything. Laundering money isn't something to be taken lightly," Ros said, leaning forward in her seat and resting her forehead in her hands, looking more stressed out than Christian had ever seen her before. "I can't believe he would do this to us."

Christian shook his head, however, still unconvinced. "It just doesn't make sense - Baxter would never have done this. He was as straight an arrow as they come. I doubt he even had a speeding ticket!"

"Well, either way, it doesn't matter - we need to bring in our legal team and turn this over to the SEC," Ros said firmly. "We have to act now Christian - if we wait at all for any reason, we could be implicated in this too!"

"Ros, if we don't understand the whole situation, we could end up in more trouble if we act rashly," Christian snapped back. "We need to figure out the source of this Robinson Corporation before we do anything."

Ros got to her feet, glaring at Christian with an angry glint in her eye. "I know you're technically my boss, Christian, but that hasn't stopped me in the past from telling you you're full of shit. If you think we need to wait before taking any concrete steps in rectifying this shitstorm of a situation, then fine - but you're not going to stop me from consulting with our legal department about this."

Ros turned around and stalked away, and just as she reached the door, she grabbed the handle before looking back at him with an expression of anger and regret. "This isn't a game, Christian. For the sake of our company and its future, we need to be on the same page about this - there simply isn't another option."

With that, she pulled open the door and walked out of his office, leaving Christian with the file folder and about a thousand thoughts crashing around his head as he tried to get a grasp on the situation. He still couldn't wrap his mind around this - Baxter laundering money through GEH? The very company he had worked faithfully at for so many years? Christian knew better than anyone that you can never truly know a person's character, but this seemed preposterous.

Christian's mind immediately went to Elena, and his stomach sank. It looked like he wasn't going to be able to look into her salons anytime soon as he dealt with this new crisis.

 _You'd have ended up dead or in a prison cell if it wasn't for me… I saved your life, and I deserved every cent I made off of you over the years._

Elena's words from this past weekend suddenly came to Christian's mind, and he stopped to stare down at the file folder in his hands, his eyes lingering at the amount of money listed at the bottom of the page. He slowly but surely began to put the pieces together as he stared at it, and an icy cold feeling of dread gripped his insides, refusing to let go.

He had suspected Elena was committing fraud with her own company, but maybe that wasn't the case… perhaps this shell corporation was her way of doing it. If Elena had forced someone like Baxter to do something illegal for her like this, him resigning as suddenly as he did made a lot of sense. Robinson Corporation was acquired by GEH three months ago - the same time Baxter had left. And three months ago was when he, Christian, had begun pulling away from Elena and the BDSM lifestyle…

Christian quickly sat down at his computer and clicked onto the company network, pulling up the digital records of all GEH acquisitions. After scrolling through the database, he clicked on Esclava Salon & Spa, opening up the readout of their fiscal year. He scrolled to the very bottom of the page and looked at the total amount of money spent this past year - his heart seemed to stop beating in his chest, and he glanced over at the file on Robinson Corporation, not believing it was true.

They were identical.

At that moment, it seemed as if every worst fear Christian had had about Elena ruining him came true all at once. While he had been concerned she was going to do something in the near future, it hadn't occurred to him she had already laid the groundwork for his downfall months ago. And through his very own company, no less.

For the first time ever, Christian felt truly scared that Elena Lincoln had already won.

* * *

 **A/N: And the plot thickens! If you enjoyed the drama this chapter, please leave a review.**

 **If you'd like to see my updated Pinterest board for this story, the link is www dot pinterest dot com/strawpaj/the-price-of-love/**


	10. Holding Firm

**A/N: Thank you all for your wonderful reviews and support! Here's the next chapter for you.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Holding Firm**

 **CPOV**

Christian strode determinedly into the legal department with two file folders in his hands, and after glancing around for a moment, he spotted Ros and three other members of their legal team sitting around a table in a glass-walled conference room, talking seriously amongst one another. He approached the door and walked right in without knocking.

"Christian," Ros looked up in surprise when she heard the door open and saw Christian stride in. "Glad you decided to join us."

"Ms. Bailey was just telling us about you two finding evidence of Mr. Baxter's shell corporation," Holden Lewis, one of GEH's top defense attorneys, spoke up from the head of the table. "As your lawyers, Mr. Grey, we would strongly advise you to turn over any information you find to the SEC as soon as possible…"

"It wasn't Baxter," Christian interrupted firmly. The others stared at him, not saying anything for a moment.

"Christian, enough of this," Ros snapped angrily. "Baxter screwed us over - you saw the evidence yourself! Stop defending him when you know he's guilty!"

Christian didn't speak as he approached the table, and he wordlessly dropped the two file folders onto the table. Ros frowned at him before hesitantly opening them, glancing over the first one.

"Esclava?" Ros looked perplexed as she read it over, and then looked at the other one - the one for Robinson Corporation. She turned to look back up at Christian. "What does Mrs. Lincoln's salon have to do with any of this?"

"Look at the fiscal total at the bottom of both files," Christian said.

Ros did so, and just like Christian, she saw that the numbers were identical. She brought a hand up to her mouth, clearly shocked.

"Oh my God," she whispered after a moment, looking back up at Christian. "They're the same... Mrs. Lincoln is behind all this?"

"Yes" Christian said grimly. "I believe she forced Baxter into acquiring Robinson Corporation as one of Grey Enterprise Holdings' subsidiaries - I don't know how, maybe she threatened him or she made him a deal or something. But I think that was the reason why he left the company so suddenly and why he's currently off the radar. He doesn't want to be connected with any of this."

"His behavior could also imply guilt," Holden pointed out.

"Baxter never did anything wrong in his life - just look at his work record," Ros said firmly, and Christian looked over at her in surprise. "There's absolutely nothing to suggest he would do something like this deliberately, not unless someone else forced him to. It makes much more sense that someone else made Baxter do their dirty work, and that he would try to separate himself from it."

"What evidence do we have that says Elena Lincoln acted alone in this illegal activity?" one of the lawyers piped up. "Do we have evidence to state Baxter wasn't her accomplice?"

"We can find evidence," Ros stated confidently. "I agree with Christian that Baxter isn't guilty in this - and if we manage to prove nobody else at GEH had nothing to do with these illegal activities, that it was all orchestrated at the behest of Elena Lincoln, then all the better for our company. We might be able to get out of this scot-free."

"I don't think it'll be that simple," Christian said after a moment, and the others looked up at him.

"Why not?" Ros asked with a frown.

Christian sighed, looking down at his feet for a moment before looking back up at his three lawyers. "Do you guys mind stepping out for a few minutes while I talk to Ros privately?"

The three men looked appalled he would even ask that. "Mr. Grey, if you know something about this money laundering issue, you need to tell us right away..." Holden began firmly, but Christian held up a hand to silence him.

"It's not about that. I would just like a private counsel with my second-in-command before I bring this information to anyone else. Is that alright with you?" he asked calmly.

The three men didn't say anything for a moment as they glanced at each other. Finally, Holden stood up along with the other two and they all grabbed their briefcases before making their way single file out of the conference room. Once they were gone and the door closed behind them, Christian made his way over to Ros and sat down across from her.

"Christian, why can't we just turn Elena over to the SEC?" Ros asked before he could speak. "Please tell me you aren't involved in this money laundering scheme with her too…?"

"No, Ros, I'm not," Christian said firmly. "But I think I'm the reason why she's doing all of this, and if that's true, we can't turn her over to the SEC."

"What?" Ros asked, bemused. "What does that mean? Of course we can turn her over."

"She has information on me, Ros," Christian said reluctantly. "Information that could ruin my reputation and this company's name. That's what makes her think she can do whatever she wants with me - she has leverage."

"What leverage?" Ros asked immediately. "Whatever she has on you, Christian, it couldn't be that bad."

Christian remained silent, and his lack of response caused Ros to realize the gravity of his situation. She sat back slightly as she continued to gaze at him, her expression serious.

"What is it Christian?" she asked quietly, gazing at him worriedly. "What does she have on you?"

Christian sighed. "A lot," he said quietly, leaning his elbows on the table and rubbing his forehead tiredly. "I don't know if I can explain it all in one sitting, but Elena and I have a… history together. That history goes back a long way, and during that time she got me involved in some activities that a vast majority of the public would find… unsavory."

He paused briefly, and Ros looked like she was going to be sick. "God, Christian…" she whispered, making him feel like shit.

"I gave all that up when I met Ana," he went on, as if trying to reconcile himself in her eyes. "Elena wasn't too happy about that though, and that's why she's doing all this. She thinks I owe her for everything she's supposedly done for me."

"So if we give her up to the SEC, she'll come forward about the… unsavory activities you and she used to do together?" Ros asked, her question sounding more like a statement.

"I think so," Christian said grimly. "I wouldn't put it past her. She's confronted me and Ana about it already, and so I know she's definitely not happy."

"Jesus Christ…" Ros leaned forward and placed her hand on her forehead, looking weary. "This is fucked up. Did you do anything illegal with her?"

"No," Christian said immediately. "But it was still pretty bad. And trust me, I know how it all sounds - I know more than anyone. I can't tell you how much I wish that Elena had never come into my life and that nothing had ever happened between us…"

"Stop it, Christian," Ros snapped. "Enough with the 'what ifs'. Elena is here now and she's already went ahead and done this to us. It happened, and now we have to deal with this in order to save our company and your reputation."

"That's just it, though," Christian said grimly, shaking his head. "I don't think there is a way out… at least not one that doesn't drag me or GEH through the mud. I think we're screwed."

"It certainly seems that way," Ros nodded, looking up at Christian with a serious expression on her face. "But honestly, Christian, what's the lesser of two evils? GEH being caught up in a money laundering scheme, or you getting some bad rumors circulated about you?"

Christian hung his head, knowing it was the latter - he was going to have to take the fall for this one.

"I'm sorry, Christian, but I'm just trying to be realistic," Ros said quietly. "If your private affairs are going to become tabloid fodder, it'll be a PR nightmare for sure, but at the end of the day our company would be able to handle the bad press. It'll be a hell of a lot better than being accused of committing fraud and both of us getting sent to federal prison."

Christian nodded, knowing she was right. "I know… I just hate that we have to pick our poison, so to speak."

Ros gave him a small sardonic smile. "In the world of mergers and acquisitions, we know that a shitty option is sometimes the only way to go," she said, and hesitated a moment. "We need to tell Holden and the others about this."

"I know," Christian said, almost resignedly. He reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose. "But… I think we should tell them to wait a day or two before turning Elena over to the SEC."

"What?" Ros asked, looking flabbergasted. "Why?"

Christian swallowed. "I just…" he hesitated, finally looking back up at Ros, his heart seeming to twist inside of his gut and making him feel sick. "I need to tell my family about my past before it comes out as public knowledge. I'd rather they hear it from me instead of from some gossip rag."

Ros softened slightly, gazing at him with sympathy in her eyes. After a moment she nodded. "Alright. I'll talk to the lawyers and let them know what we're going to do."

Christian nodded, not meeting her gaze as he got heavily to his feet. "Thanks Ros."

He began making his way toward the conference room doors, but before he could leave, Ros called his name:

"Christian?"

Christian turned around, and saw Ros gazing at him. After a moment, she gave him a small, genuine smile. "Despite all the shit that's happening right now, I'm glad you met Ana. You've been a changed man since she came into your life - she's good for you, I can tell."

Christian nodded, feeling his own face break out into a smile as he thought about his girl. "I know she is. Thanks Ros."

And with that, he turned around and walked away.

* * *

 **~Later that evening~**

Christian went to Escala after that meeting with Ros, and he texted Ana to meet him at his place after she got off of work. Gail had cooked up a delicious dinner of baked penne rigate with collard greens along with a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, and Christian changed out of his normal suit into a more comfortable navy blue long-sleeved t-shirt and slacks. He was just walking down the stairs toward the great room when he heard the elevator ding and Ana walk in from the foyer.

She was dressed very nicely in a royal blue knee-length dress with a white belt around her waist, and that combined with her softly curled chestnut brown hair hanging down around her slim shoulders, Christian was practically struck dumb by her beauty.

 _How did I ever get so lucky?_

"Hi," Ana smiled widely when she saw him near the stairs. Wordlessly, Christian walked forward until he was in front of her and he put his hands around her waist, pulling her toward him and capturing her lips in a tender kiss. Ana brought her hand up to cup his jaw, kissing him back, and after a few bliss-filled moments they broke apart.

"I need to talk to you about something," Christian said softly after a moment, his nose brushing lightly against hers. Ana blinked, her kiss-dazed expression fading slightly.

"What is it?" she asked curiously, gazing at him with a small frown on her beautiful face. Instead of answering, Christian took her hand in his, walking them over to the couch and sitting them both down. "Christian?"

"…There was a development at work today regarding the Elena situation," Christian said slowly, gazing down at the floor while reflexively lacing his fingers with Ana. He finally looked up at her. "It could be bad."

"How bad?" Ana asked quietly, her blue eyes boring into Christian's.

He hesitated a moment before letting out a tired sigh. "We don't have all the specifics yet, but it appears as though, for the past few months, Elena has been laundering money through a shell corporation that was illegally acquired into GEH."

Ana blinked, looking flabbergasted. " _What_?" she asked after a moment, shocked. "Illegally acquired? What does that mean?"

"We're still trying to figure it all out, but it seems as though she forced Baxter, one of my old acquisitions directors, to forge the paperwork into acquiring her illegal business into GEH. Baxter resigned unexpectedly a few months ago, and we think Elena was the reason why."

"He didn't want to be associated with it," Ana said, more of a statement than a question, and Christian nodded. "That's horrible, Christian - what are you going to do?"

"Well, that's the question," Christian said, his jaw hardening while he glanced down at his feet. "Elena knows way too much about me, and if we rat her out to the SEC, it's practically a guarantee she'll go public with all the BDSM shit I used to do. But if I try to hide the shell corporation from the SEC…"

"…You'd be in even more trouble," Ana finished for him, gazing at him worriedly. "So what will you do?"

"I spoke with Ros about it, and it looks like the best course of action would be for us to turn the shell corporation over to the SEC and just deal with the fallout."

Ana blinked, staring at him in surprise. "But… Elena will ruin you."

Christian grimaced. "It's a better option than going to prison, baby."

"No," Ana suddenly got to her feet. "There has to be a better way! If you turn her company over to the authorities, you'll be playing right into her hands! She shouldn't be able to get away with this…!"

"There is no better way, Ana," Christian said firmly, getting to his feet as well. "But it's alright… I'm willing to take the fall for this if it saves my company."

"You shouldn't have to do this," Ana said, shaking her head adamantly. Christian could see tears gathering in her eyes. "I wish she wouldn't make you do this to yourself."

Christian let out a small sigh. "Well, do you have any better suggestions?" he asked skeptically. "Because my legal team sure as hell doesn't."

Ana sniffed, wiping a stray tear away from her eye as she tried to think. "…We could pretend to break up," she said after a moment.

Christian frowned. "What?"

"For Elena's sake… we can make it look like you and I broke up and that you want to go back to the BDSM lifestyle," Ana explained, her eyes lighting up. "That way she won't be mad at you anymore and she won't try to ruin you with her shell corporation…!"

Christian shook his head. "No, Ana…"

"But it might work!" she insisted. "If we can somehow convince her we're not a couple anymore..."

"For how long though?" Christian overrode her, almost angrily. "How long would we have to pretend to be broken up for in order to convince her? Several months to a year? Would you be okay with that? And who's to say Elena won't see right through our lie? There would be no guarantees with that plan, Ana."

"But it would be worth a try…!" Ana said emphatically, tears now beginning to stream down her face. Christian, seeing that she was beginning to get upset, moved forward to take her face in his hands.

"Hey hey…" he said quietly, brushing his thumbs along her dampened cheeks. "Stop crying, okay? Everything will be alright, baby - I promise."

Ana only responded by letting out a small sob and leaning forward to bury her face in Christian's shirt, letting her tears fall. Christian immediately wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close, rubbing his hand along her back. For a few moments, they just stood there together, supporting one another.

"...It's all my fault," Ana muttered after a moment or two. She pulled away from his shirt, hiccupping slightly. "If you'd never met me, this never would have happened…"

"Stop," Christian said firmly. He took her chin in his fingers and tilted her face toward his, though she refused to meet his eyes. "Ana, don't even say that. I don't regret anything that happened between us these past few months - not one single thing."

Ana didn't look convinced as she pulled her chin out of his grasp and stared down at her feet, tears still falling silently down her face. Christian moved his hand up so he cupped her cheek.

"Ana, I am not going to apologize for our relationship," he said, his voice firm. "Elena can believe whatever bullshit she wants about me and my needs, but the fact is I _know_ what I need… and that's you." Ana finally looked up and met his gaze, and Christian brought his other hand up to gently cradle her face. "I would rather go down in ruins with the woman I love by my side than let Elena get the best of me one more time."

Ana let out a small gasp, staring up at Christian as if she couldn't believe what he said. This was the first time he had ever used the L-word, and he gazed into her eyes, trying to get a read on her feelings.

 _Please say it, baby._

"Christian…" she whispered, another tear slipping down her cheek as a smile lit up her face. "I love you too."

Christian felt as if a huge weight had suddenly lifted off his chest, and a wide smile broke out across his face as he gazed at her. She loved him… this beautiful, wonderful, perfect creature loved _him_. He immediately leaned down and captured her lips with his in a fervent kiss, wanting to convey all his deep feelings for her, and she reciprocated, grasping his shirt tightly in her hands and tugging him closer.

With their lips still connected, Christian moved his hands down to her waist and lifted her up in his arms, and she immediately wrapped her legs around his mid-section. He pulled his face away slightly to press his forehead to hers.

"I love you so much, Ana," Christian whispered, his voice quiet, sincere. "No matter what happens… I'll always love you."

"I love you too, Christian," Ana said, her voice just as sincere. "No matter what happens with this whole Elena situation, I will be by your side, no matter what. I love you so much."

"Oh, Ana..."

That's all Christian needed to hear - he immediately pressed his lips against hers again, starting to walk them toward the staircase to his bedroom. His heart felt so full at the moment, and for the first time ever, he felt he could face whatever was going to happen with no fear whatsoever.

Even if he lost everything tomorrow, he would still have the love of the most beautiful woman in the world. And that was enough.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you all for reading! Next chapter, Christian is going to tell his family about his past. If you enjoyed this update, though, please leave a review.**

 **Follow my Pinterest board for this story at www dot pinterest dot com/strawpaj/the-price-of-love/**


	11. Letting Go

**A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Letting Go**

Christian stayed in bed with Ana the rest of the evening, and their whole night was interspersed with bouts of passionate lovemaking and occasional sleeping. Christian's love and devotion for Anastasia burned inside him like a talisman, making him stronger for what he knew he was going to have to do the next morning - go to Bellevue and tell the truth about his past to his parents. He was dreading going, but he knew it had to be done.

 _Best to get it over with as soon as possible._

Christian reluctantly pulled himself from the warm confines of the bed early the next morning to take a quick shower and dress quickly in some comfortable clothes. He had already called his parents to say he was coming over sometime this morning, and he wasn't planning on going into work at all today, so he decided to forgo his usual power suit. His parents wouldn't care either way.

Christian sincerely wished he didn't have to tell them about all this shit going on in his life, but more than anything he wished none of this had ever happened so if would never have affected them like this. He wished Elena had never come into his life, and that she had never introduced him to the lifestyle - the very thing that was going to end up potentially ruining him. Christian couldn't change it, however… he had had an affair with Elena, his mother's supposed friend, and now he was about to face the consequences of his actions.

After kissing a slumbering Anastasia on the forehead, Christian walked out of his bedroom and went down to the great room, ready to head out to Bellevue.

~/~

"Christian - sweetheart. It's so wonderful to see you!"

Grace greeted him at the door of their home, smiling lovingly as she pulled her son in for a big hug. Christian hugged her back, grateful he could at least let her hold him - something he hadn't been able to let her do throughout most of his childhood.

"Hi Mom, it's good to see you too. Is Dad around?" Christian asked once they broke apart.

"He's in his study right now. But come on in, darling - Gretchen and I were just making some breakfast," Grace said, leading the way into the kitchen. The delicious smell of bacon and eggs wafted throughout the house, and Christian saw hot coffee brewing in the large expensive barista machine on the counter. Gretchen stood at the kitchen island while assembling several plates of brioche with sides of butter and jam - she glanced up when Grace and Christian entered, and her whole face blushed heavily when her eyes landed on Christian. He resisted rolling his eyes.

"Good morning, Mr. Grey," she greeted him with a smile, a flirtatious lilt to her voice. "Can I get you a cup of coffee?"

"No thank you," Christian said. While he would have liked a cup of strong dark roast coffee, he definitely didn't want to give Gretchen a reason to interact with him.

"Your father should be down in a couple minutes," Grace said, moving over to the stove. "We can catch up a bit while we wait for him… so how have things been going with you, dear? How's Ana?"

Christian smiled, happy as he always was to talk about his girlfriend. "She's great, actually - she's really been enjoying her new job over at Seattle Independent Press."

"Oh, that's wonderful! What does she do there again?"

Christian explained more about what Ana did and about her dreams and ambitions working in publishing, and Grace listened with a wide smile on her face. Gretchen listened too, though discreetly and with a noticeable scowl on her face. After a few minutes, Carrick finally entered the kitchen.

"Good morning son," Carrick grinned, walking forward and clapping Christian on the shoulder. "It's good to see you. You mentioned you wanted to talk to your mother and I about something today?"

"There's no rush, Cary," his mother chided good-naturedly as Christian's smile faded, his heart sinking in his stomach. "Let's get some breakfast and get settled out on the patio table. It's such a beautiful day out today, I thought we could go eat outside."

Christian and Carrick agreed, and the three of them loaded up their plates with all the delicious breakfast foods Grace and Gretchen had cooked up for them before making their way out to the spacious patio overlooking the Sound. It was unseasonably warm and sunny this Seattle morning, and Carrick opened up the overlarge umbrella above the patio table before they all settled into their seats.

"…It was lovely hearing from you the other day, darling," Grace said to Christian after they had all dug into their food and there was a brief lull in the conversation. "It's been so long since the three of us could enjoy a nice meal like this."

Christian slowly chewed his food before swallowing, not looking at his mother as he gazed down at his plate. It was now or never. "I actually had a specific reason for wanting to meet with you guys today…" he began, not looking at either of them. "I'm afraid it's not good, but considering what's about to happen, I felt you guys deserved to know from me."

He finally looked up, and saw that both Grace and Carrick looked slightly surprised at that statement. They glanced at each other before looking back over at him. "Christian, what's going on?" Carrick asked with a frown on his face.

Christian let out a sigh, bracing himself. "I don't really know how to go about saying this, but here goes… Elena Lincoln is trying to blackmail me."

The looks of utter and complete shock upon his parents' faces were almost comical - whatever they thought he was going to say, this definitely wasn't it. "Elena?" Grace sputtered, clearly in shock and disbelief. "Are you sure?"

"You must be mistaken, Christian," Carrick said, looking dubious, and Christian shook his head.

"I wish I was," he said seriously. "But there's a lot you guys don't know about her… she's not who she says she is."

Grace and Carrick glanced at each other again, looking almost frightened at what Christian was about to reveal. Grace's face had gone completely white.

"Tell us what's going on, son," Carrick said, gazing at Christian imploringly. "What has she done to you?"

And with a resigned sigh, Christian began to tell them.

For the next twenty minutes or so, Christian explained to them everything that he had tried for so long to hide from them because he was convinced they would hate him for it. He told them about how he and Elena had had an affair when he was fifteen years old (that was the hardest to get through, since Grace looked like she was ready to pass out), how she had introduced him to the alternative sexual lifestyle BDSM, how through her help he had become a dominant, and how he had been practicing the lifestyle as a dom ever since, with Elena being the one to help him find submissives.

There was a pregnant pause after Christian finished speaking, and for a few agonizing seconds, neither Carrick nor Grace spoke. Finally, Grace broke the silence:

"Good lord, Christian," she said quietly, sounding as if she was going to pass out. "This is all… I-I don't even know what to say… I mean, _Elena_ …"

"I can't believe we ever brought you children around her," Carrick said, looking ill. "How could she have always been this vile and none of us ever knew about it?"

"Like I said, she wasn't who everybody thought she was," Christian said, grimacing. "She was able to hide her true self fairly well… until Ana came around, that is."

"Ana?" Carrick asked quickly, his eyes snapping up to Christian's. "Is she involved in all this? Was she one of those… women… Elena found for you?"

"No," Christian said quickly. "She's not - quite the opposite, in fact. When she and I first met and we started dating, I decided that since she wasn't involved in the lifestyle, I wouldn't be either. I didn't want to force her into doing something she was uncomfortable with. Things have actually been really great between us, but Elena wasn't happy about that since she had been making money off marketing me in the BDSM world to the submissives she was hooking me up with."

"Jesus," Carrick breathed, shaking his head in disgust. "Well, now I'm even more grateful for Ana being in your life."

"You said Elena is blackmailing you," Grace said, frowning at her son. "It's all because you're dating Ana now and you're no longer involved in that awful lifestyle?"

A part of Christian wanted to correct what his mother declared was "awful" about BDSM, but he knew better than to argue with her. He nodded. "Elena was making a lot of money off of marketing me as a dominant, but once the world found out I was in a committed relationship, she could no longer make money that same way. So she forced one of my old acquisitions directors to acquire an illegal shell corporation into GEH where she would launder the money she made off of me."

" _What_?!" Carrick and Grace yelped at the same time. Grace brought a hand to her mouth, looking shocked, and Carrick looked livid.

"That bitch has gone too far!" Carrick snapped, sounding angrier than Christian had ever heard him before. "Report her to the SEC! She's not going to get away with this!"

"That's what we're doing, Dad," Christian said, almost placatingly. "We're going to make her pay for trying to do this to me… but right now, she likely feels she has leverage over me because of everything she knows, everything I just told you. She could go to the public with all this information and ruin my name."

"Oh, God," Grace said, gazing over at Carrick worriedly. "He's right!"

"We can put a restraining order on her," Carrick said immediately, going in full lawyer mode. "If we do that, she won't be able to say anything…"

"You really think a piece of paper is going to stop her?" Christian asked dubiously. "She's pissed off, Dad, and she's affiliated with a lot of people from a very shady, underground community. If she wants to ruin my name, she will… and I'm going to let her."

"Son," Carrick said, gazing at Christian with sadness in his green eyes. "We can find a way around this…"

"There's no way around it, Dad," Christian insisted. "Elena's basically shoved me into a corner with this shell corporation, and this is the only way out. The world knowing about my past is a better option than getting thrown into federal prison for laundering money, and this way Elena will pay for her crimes."

Grace's eyes filled with tears, and she sniffed, dabbing at her eyes. "Oh darling, I wish it didn't have to be this way…"

"Is that why you're telling this to us today?" Carrick asked, still gazing at Christian with a sad look on his face. "You wanted us to know about it before the media fallout?"

Christian nodded sadly. "I just… I thought it would be better for you to hear it from me instead of… other places."

"Oh sweetheart," Grace sobbed, moving around the table to gather Christian up in her arms. Christian hugged her back, his heart heavy. "I'm so sorry you've had to go through all this. I hate myself for allowing Elena into our lives - into our homes. I feel like this is all my fault…"

"No, Mom," Christian said quickly, holding his mother tighter. "It's not your fault. I could've said no to Elena all those years ago - I could've stopped anytime, but I let her into my life and let her exert her sick control over me. It was my fault."

"This is all Elena's fault," Carrick spat, his face darkening angrily. "We can't let her get away with this, Christian. There has to be a way where we can take her down without ruining your name in the process."

Christian swallowed, his mother still hugging him around his neck as if she were afraid to let go. "There isn't, Dad," he said quietly, his voice resigned. A heavy silence reigned for several seconds over them like a heavy blanket.

"No matter what happens, Christian, you'll always have us," Grace said emphatically, pulling away so she could gaze into Christian's eyes. "Even if Elena drags your name through the mud and you lose everything tomorrow, we'll be by your side through it all. That's what families are for - we love and support one another even through the difficult times. We love you, darling, through thick and thin. No matter what."

Christian felt a powerful emotion fill his chest after his mother's impassioned speech, and he could do little more than nod at her, unable to verbalize his feelings. Grace seemed to understand as she pulled him in for another hug, and Christian buried his face in the crook of her neck.

He held her tight, and after a moment he closed his eyes, allowing the comfort Grace always seemed to bring him wash over his senses, making him feel like everything was going to be okay.

Even if he honestly didn't think they would be.

* * *

Hours later, after Grace and Carrick had talked with him about every aspect of his personal life he had never wanted to divulge to them before, Christian was finally able to head home to Escala. He drove down the streets of Seattle in his Audi R8, trying to get a grasp on his feelings at the moment - while a part of him did feel a bit better after having opened up to his parents, a larger part of him was still dreading what the future held.

Elena was most likely going to ruin his name, and even though Christian was preparing himself as much as possible for the inevitable fallout, it still felt like he was just sitting back and letting her win.

The very idea sickened him.

Christian drove out of Bellevue and began heading toward the city, seeing the Seattle skyline in the distance. If he focused on it hard enough, he would be able to make out Grey House amongst all the skyscrapers against the horizon, and a small feeling of pride bubbled up in his chest when he saw it.

 _Even if you lose everything tomorrow, we'll be by your side through it all._

His mother's words from earlier today replayed inside his head, and while his mind mulled over its meaning, his heart seemed to pound faster with understanding.

 _Even if you lose everything tomorrow…_

Lose

And suddenly, as if a lightbulb inside of his head had gone off, Christian knew exactly what he had to do. He immediately hit the accelerator, and, while keeping his eyes on the road, pulled out his cell phone from his pocket and hit speed dial.

"…Ros," Christian said urgently the moment she picked up. "Meet me at Grey House in fifteen minutes - I don't care what else you're doing right now, just get there."

"Christian? Wha-?" Ros sounded shocked and confused by his urgency, but Christian cut her off:

"I'll explain when we're there," he said quickly. "Just hurry - this is about the future of our company."

He hung up the phone without saying goodbye, and immediately sped off toward GEH.

* * *

 **~Later~**

Inside Christian's office at GEH, silence reigned. The two of them sat across from each other at the coffee table near the window, Christian's elbows perched on his knees after he had finished explaining his plan. Ros sat supine while staring at the ground near her feet, seemingly at a loss for words. After a moment, she spoke:

"Wow, Christian," she breathed, looking unsure of what else to say. She shook her head. "I don't know what to say… I mean, wow."

"I know," Christian nodded, glancing down at the ground too. "It's a lot to take in."

"It's insane," she said firmly, looking up to stare straight into his eyes. " _You're_ insane - this is a far riskier plan than the one we had before."

"But if it works, it would save GEH and my reputation," Christian insisted. "And Elena will have to pay for what she's done to both me and our company. This _is_ the best option."

"I don't know, Christian. I mean, what you're asking of me…" Ros trailed off, shaking her head again. She looked almost defeated as she gazed up at Christian, almost imploringly. "It's too much."

"I know it's a lot," Christian said quickly. "And I realize that this is all going to happen very quickly once the ball starts rolling, but I wouldn't have asked you to do this if I didn't have every confidence that you could handle it."

Ros stared at him for a moment, as if battling with herself over something, before finally letting out a sigh. "If we did go through with this," she began hesitantly. "How long would it take, do you think?"

"If Barney and Welch start tonight, we could probably be done by the end of the week at the earliest," Christian said, scratching his forehead in thought. "I need to get all my ducks in a row first, but it is possible."

Ros still didn't say anything, her mind clearly still trying to process everything, and Christian looked at her expectantly. "Will you do this with me Ros?" he asked after a moment.

Ros looked back at him before letting out an incredulous chuckle. "I still think you're completely insane," she said, giving him a look. "But I don't see any point in talking you out of this when you've obviously made up your mind. So yes, I'll do this with you."

Christian couldn't help but smile widely, relieved that she was on board with this. "You won't regret it."

Ros smiled, a glint in her eye Christian recognized from when she was in the boardroom in full businesswoman mode. "Let's take this bitch down."

* * *

 **A/N: What is Christian's plan do you think? :) Leave a review and let me know!**

 **Make sure you follow my Pinterest board for this story at www dot pinterest dot com/strawpaj/the-price-of-love/**


	12. Plan of Action

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! Hope you all enjoy this next chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Plan of Action**

 **APOV**

 **~The next day~**

While Ana would have liked to wait for Christian to come back home after meeting with his parents in Bellevue, Kate had called her up, proclaiming she had gotten the day off work and insisted the two of them go out and have a girl's day together. Ana hadn't seen her best friend for nearly a week, so going out on the town sounded like a great idea - therefore she got out of bed, showered, and got dressed at Escala before leaving a note on Christian's pillow letting him know where she was going to be. She even signed the note with an _I love you xo_ which she had never been able to do before.

It felt different, but at the same time, it felt perfectly right. Ana couldn't fight the stupid smile from spreading across her face as she left Escala and headed over to her apartment to meet with her best friend.

Ana and Kate spent an enjoyable Friday out shopping at boutiques and high-end clothing outlets, and at noon they ate at a fancy little bistro near the Sound that they heard made some amazing paninis. Once they finished lunch, they headed over to Kate's favorite nail salon and both of them splurged on some elegant manis and pedis.

While Ana was not usually one to indulge in such girly and extravagant things, today felt like an exception - being able to hang out with Kate like this was becoming a rarity due to her relationship with Christian, and since she was now making a pretty decent wage working at SIP, she felt today was a treat she should allow herself to enjoy.

"Oh my God, I _so_ needed this," Kate groaned, tilting her head back as her feet soaked in the heated foot bath. A woman was painting Kate's fingernails a beautiful pearlescent pink, while Ana's fingernails were being painted a pastel lilac color with a pretty flower accent nail.

"I can't remember the last time we had a girl's day like this," Ana smiled, leaning her head back the way Kate was and letting out a relaxed sigh. "We have to do this again sometime."

"Oh please… with the way Mr. Moneybags has been hogging up all your attention lately?" Kate asked with a good-natured eyeroll. "I think the next time we'll be able to get pampered like this would be at your bachelorette party."

Ana couldn't help but let out an incredulous snort. "Whoa, Kate… I told you that Christian and I said 'I love you' for the first time to each other last night. Neither of us are ready to make that sort of leap into marriage territory quite yet."

"Ah, but that's what always comes next," Kate said wisely. "You say the big L-word to each other, and pretty soon you're gonna start talking about the big M-word…"

"Why must you ruin a perfectly lovely day with your talk of lifelong commitments?" Ana asked with a sarcastic smile, and Kate giggled.

"It's what best friends do," she said with a cheeky grin. The nail technicians had finally finished painting Kate and Ana's manicures, and they left to allow their nails to dry. "You mentioned Christian is visiting his parents today?" Kate asked, blowing gently on her fingernails.

"Yep," Ana said simply, choosing not to elaborate. She hadn't told Kate yet about what was about to happen with Christian, although she felt she probably should explain it to her soon if the news of his past was about to become public knowledge. "He'll probably be back tonight sometime."

"Great! So he won't mind if you and I go back to our place and order pizza and watch chick flicks all night?" Kate suggested, her whole face lighting up, and Ana couldn't help but giggle.

"I think he would be able to swing it," she said amusedly, and Kate squealed excitedly, bouncing in her seat.

"Yay! Let's do it!" she said brightly.

Ana and Kate soon finished up at the nail salon and headed back to their apartment in the Pike Market district. Ana was having a great time with her best friend, but whenever she got a chance to check her phone, she saw no new messages from Christian. She tried not to let it bother her since she figured he was just with his family, but she decided to text him a few times anyway, letting him know where she was and how she was doing.

* * *

 **~The next morning~**

Ana woke up late Saturday morning, feeling slightly hungover from all three bottles of wine she and Kate had drunk together last night. At least it was Saturday so she didn't have to worry about going into work in this state. Blearily, Ana pushed her snarly hair out of her face so she could check her phone. Still no messages from Christian.

Ana's sleepiness immediately evaporated as worry overcame her senses. Why hadn't Christian reached out to her yet? Considering how nervous he had been to tell his parents the truth, she felt concerned that something very bad had happened.

Ignoring her hangover, Ana quickly got out of bed and went into her en suite, making the decision to shower and dress as quickly as possible. She wanted to go to Escala and see if Christian was okay.

Since she knew what was inevitably going to happen with Elena and the SEC, she prayed that the news of his past in BDSM hadn't come out to the public yet.

About thirty minutes later, Ana was showered and dressed, and after she ate a quick breakfast of a bagel with cream cheese, she immediately headed over to Escala. As she was driving, whenever she hit a stoplight she checked her phone for any breaking local news stories or messages from Christian. There were none from either, and Ana didn't know if she should feel concerned or relieved.

She finally made it to Escala, and as soon as she pulled in, she immediately noticed all of Christian's cars were there. When she got into the elevator, she hit the code for the penthouse, and it felt like an eternity as she waited for it to take her to the top.

As the doors dinged open, Taylor stood on the threshold, obviously waiting to see who had come up. He visibly relaxed when he saw it was Ana.

"Ms. Steele," he said with a genial smile. "I didn't realize you were coming this morning."

"I haven't heard from Christian since yesterday," Ana explained, stepping into the foyer. "I've been worried about him. Is he around?"

Taylor blinked, looking almost surprised. "He's in his study, ma'am," he said after a moment, gesturing toward the staircase. Thanking him, Ana hurried through the great room toward where she knew his office was.

His door was mostly closed, although it was cracked open enough so Ana could clearly hear Christian talking on the phone with someone. He sounded stressed out, therefore it was with some trepidation when Ana lightly knocked while slowly opening the door and edging her way in.

The whole place was a mess - his desk was covered in strewn papers and file folders, while several laptops and printers were perched in various places across the room. Christian himself was sitting behind his desk, looking as if he had been up all night - his face was pale and his eyes were drooping from lack of sleep. He was talking into a Bluetooth earpiece as he typed away at his computer, and after a few moments, he looked up to see Ana standing there.

"Barney, I'll call you back - just finish up the December emails," he said before hitting end call. He rubbed his eyes tiredly before looking up at Ana again. "Hey baby - everything alright?"

Ana frowned at him before gazing at the mess around the whole office. "Yeah, I'm fine… but what about you? Have you been working all night?"

Christian blinked. "Um…" he furrowed his brow before checking his watch. He looked surprised, and he brought his hand up to tug his hair. "Wow - I suppose I have."

"What the hell is going on, Christian?" Ana asked, sounding worried as she walked further into his office. "Did Elena come forward to the public about your BDSM lifestyle?"

"No, she didn't," Christian shook his head dismissively. He scrubbed his hand over his face and let out a yawn, as if he was trying to wake himself up more, but Ana wanted answers. She stepped up to his desk and looked at all the files and papers covering his desk. She crossed her arms.

"Does all this have something to do with Elena?" she pressed. Christian sighed tiredly before looking up at her.

"I think… I figured out a way to bring her down without ruining my reputation," he said slowly.

"What?" Ana asked, dropping her arms to her sides as her eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

"Yes," Christian nodded. He rubbed his eyes again, looking too tired to elaborate, but Ana wanted answers.

"So how are you going to do it?" Ana asked insistently. "Is that why you've been up all night? Come on, Christian, tell me!"

"It's hard to explain," Christian said evasively, getting to his feet and walking over to his window. "There's a lot of elements to it, and I'm still figuring out most of the details."

"Christian," Ana said firmly, losing patience. "What's going on?"

Christian placed his hand on his hip, bringing his other hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. Ana could tell it wasn't out of annoyance, but he was just trying to wake himself up more. "Essentially, the problem I have to face is the SEC accusing me of laundering money in my own company - even if I was not the one technically committing the crime, since I'm the CEO, my head would be on the chopping block for it. However, if I was no longer the CEO of Grey Enterprise Holdings, I would no longer be accountable for the illegal activity happening within my company."

Ana blinked, staring at him. He was going to step down as CEO of GEH? It was a bold move, but she honestly didn't know how it would actually help. "Um… okay," she said slowly, frowning. "I don't understand. How would you stepping down help if Elena still has information about you that could ruin you?"

"Well, that's the thing," Christian said, looking up at Ana. "When I step down, I need to find a new CEO to take over for me. I'm going to be appointing Elena to run GEH in my place."

There was a long, drawn-out silence as Ana tried to absorb what Christian just said. He just gazed at her, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. He didn't say a word, and Ana continued to just stare at him.

"Please tell me that's a joke," she whispered after several moments of silence. There was a quiet desperation in her voice as she tried to fully wrap her mind around what Christian just said to her. "Please tell me you have an actual plan. Why the hell would you say you're giving your company to Elena?"

"Because I am," Christian said simply. "Look, once Elena is CEO, she'll be the one accountable for any illegal activity happening within GEH. It's perfect, and I've been up all night with Barney and Welch writing up all the paperwork that needs to be done before it all goes down."

Ana blinked, still not fully understanding why he was doing this. "Does Elena know about any of this?"

"Nope," Christian said, a note of pride in his voice. "This is all being hushed up, and Welch has been photocopying and forging Elena's signatures on all the necessary documents so she has no idea what's going on. She won't know until I make the public announcement sometime next week, when everything's all said and done."

"So that's all this is? A surprise for Elena?" Ana asked skeptically. "You're gifting her a company she never asked for? Not only is that ridiculous, Christian, it's illegal! You can't just pass around a company to other people like it's a toy."

"Why not? It's my company," Christian shrugged. "GEH is privately owned, so I don't have a board of directors to answer to. I can appoint my own successor, and Ros and I agreed this is the best course of action to take down Elena."

"By giving her your company?" Ana asked, still trying to figure out what exactly his plan was.

"By giving her a company which is illegally laundering money," Christian clarified. "She will be the sole owner and chief executive officer of a business that she knows is committing fraud, and that she will have to be completely responsible for it if anything happens within it."

"So, the paperwork…?" Ana asked, glancing at all the papers and file folders on his desk.

"They're mostly records of past mergers and acquisitions I signed off on in recent years," Christian explained. "Welch and I are forging some of them to make it look like Elena was signing off on them too. Barney is also working on composing fake work email chains between myself and Elena from months ago, making it look like this has been in the works for a long time. We're going to make this as airtight as possible."

"Okay, so you're screwing over Elena… but what about GEH?" Ana asked the obvious question. "What about your employees and the businesses you've acquired? You're really okay with Elena being in charge of all of that?"

"If everything goes according to plan, Elena will not be in control of GEH for very long," Christian explained. "That's the beauty of this plan… the moment Elena realizes she is the CEO of a company that she knows is laundering money, she'll get scared. Forget the SEC, she knows she'll get in trouble with the IRS and the federal justice system once she submits her first financial records. When she becomes the CEO, she'll likely panic and try to get in touch with me - she'll go to Grey House, where she won't find me, but Ros will be there to meet with her and kindly offer to take GEH off of her hands. But only on the condition that Elena remove any record of Robinson Corporation from the company and that she will not breathe a word about this to anyone. Ros will threaten to expose Elena if she doesn't comply with these terms, and Elena will have no choice but to agree. GEH will be transferred to Ros, and our problem will be solved."

Christian spoke about his plan matter-of-factly, and Ana could only stare at him. After a moment a small smile formed on her lips.

"That's brilliant, Christian. I think this could actually work."

Christian smiled tiredly back at her. "You think so?"

"Yes - it's genius! Did you just think of it?"

"Yeah - last night, after I visited my parents," Christian said, scratching the back of his neck. "I went straight to Ros with my idea, and she agreed to do it too. After telling me I was insane, of course."

"This does sound very risky," Ana conceded. "What if it doesn't work?"

"It will work," Christian said firmly, sitting back down behind his desk. "I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure it does work, and Elena is going to regret the day she ever thought she could mess with me."

"It is brilliant, making Ros the CEO," Ana smiled. "So, when all's said and done, are you going to be her second-in-command then?"

Christian didn't say anything for a moment or two. "No, I won't," he said simply, not looking up at Ana. "I'm stepping away from GEH."

"Well, yeah, when you pass it over to Elena," Ana conceded. "But once she's gone and Ros is CEO of the company, are you going to come back as her CFO or something?"

Christian let out a deep sigh, as if he was trying to bring himself to tell her. "No," he said again, and he finally looked up. "I'm stepping away from GEH, Ana. Really. Elena could easily think that I'm bluffing when she finds out I'm giving her my company, and I have to show her that I am not playing around - I'm really going to be stepping down as CEO, and I will not be coming back to GEH in any professional capacity whatsoever."

Ana blinked at him, not entirely grasping what he was saying. "But if Ros threatens to expose Elena…" she began reasonably.

"…She'll still try to find a way to manipulate me," Christian said firmly. "She'll have more reason than ever to try to bring me down, and I'm not going to give her that opportunity. I'm actually leaving GEH - for good."

Ana could only stare at Christian, wondering if there was anything in the world he could have said that would have shocked her more.

* * *

 **A/N: So there you go! What do you think of this new development? Leave a review and let me know!**

 **Make sure to follow my Pinterest board at www dot pinterest dot com/strawpaj/the-price-of-love/**


	13. Planning Ahead

**A/N: Thank you for all your reviews and support! Here's the next chapter for you.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Planning Ahead**

 **APOV**

Christian had already spent the entire night working at his desk, and now that it was morning and he felt too tired to continue, so he decided to take a nap for a few hours in his bedroom. Ana didn't argue him on it - considering the bombshell he had just dropped on her earlier, she felt she needed some time to digest everything he had told her. Therefore, when Christian had gone upstairs to his bedroom, Ana went to the kitchen and fixed herself a cup of tea at the breakfast bar. She sipped at it silently as she contemplated everything Christian had told her earlier today.

Basically, Christian was going to be walking away from GEH, the company he had built from the ground up, all because of Ana.

It was stupid, but Ana honestly felt that _she_ was the reason why he doing all of this. Sure, he wanted to get rid of Elena, but Elena would have never done all this if Ana and Christian had never met. This wouldn't be the first time Christian had sacrificed something for her either - he had already given up his old BDSM lifestyle for her, and despite how strong their relationship was now because of it, Ana always wondered in the back of her mind if he would end up resenting her.

And now he was giving up his company… if he didn't resent her already, he definitely would over this.

Ana felt her heart sink into her stomach at the thought of Christian one day leaving her, and it was almost on instinct when she got to her feet and went up to his bedroom, having a sudden urge to see him. His bedroom door was cracked open, and she peeked in to see him lying down, fast asleep and fully clothed, facedown on top of his comforter while snoring slightly. Ana couldn't help but smile slightly as she slowly edged her way in, and after making sure he was still fast asleep, walked over and settled into the chaise lounge near his bed, gazing at him before looking out the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking Seattle.

Ana continued to sip her tea, millions of thoughts and feelings swirling around her head all at once, making it difficult for her to get a grasp on everything she was feeling.

Christian had told her how he, Barney, Welch and Ros were going to take down Elena, and even though that bitch deserved whatever came to her, their methods sounded shady and unethical. Forging documents, falsifying records, and fabricating signatures… all of it was obviously illegal, and if any of it got out to the public, Christian would be screwed. And not only him - anyone else involved in this would get into some serious trouble over it, and if that happened, Ana would have no idea what to do or where to turn.

 _What the hell is Christian doing, trying to attempt something like this?_

"I can hear you thinking from over here, baby."

Ana glanced up to see her sleep-tousled boyfriend getting up heavily off the bed and making his way over to her on the chaise lounge, yawning tiredly.

"Sorry," Ana said softly as he sat down beside her. He put his arm up behind her on the couch, and she automatically cuddled into his side. "Did I wake you?"

"No, I usually don't take long naps," Christian said tiredly, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"I was just thinking about what you told me earlier," Ana confessed.

"Oh," Christian blinked before looking back down at her. "You don't like my idea, do you?"

Ana sighed, deciding not to sugarcoat it. "No, I don't - the more I think about it, the more I don't like it. It sounds terribly risky, Christian, and a lot of what you're doing here is illegal. I mean, forging Elena's signature so you can give her your company? That's insane. And not to mention you're walking away from your entire company because of all this…"

"Ana," Christian interrupted her, and Ana quieted, still looking worried. "I know, okay? I know that there's a lot of risk involved in this plan - trust me, I had wondered for awhile if this was the right move too. But deep in my heart, I know this is the best way to take Elena down without compromising my reputation or my company's future."

"Your company's future?" Ana asked disbelievingly, getting to her feet and starting to pace worriedly. "How exactly does this protect your company's future? Because it doesn't feel like you're doing that - it feels like you're putting your company in more danger than ever by deliberately placing it into Elena's hands."

"I already told you, GEH is not going to be in Elena's hands for very long," Christian explained, getting to his feet as well. "If everything goes according to plan, she'll hand GEH back over to Ros and everything will go back to the way it was."

"You don't know that - you _can't_ know that!" Ana insisted. "Why are you so confident Elena will give GEH back to Ros?"

"Because I know Elena," Christian stated firmly. "I know what she's like, and reading people is what I do. I do it practically everyday - you have to in this business."

Ana could only stare at Christian, feeling herself deflate slightly as she gazed at him. "Yes, you are good at it," she agreed emphatically. "Which is why I think you shouldn't leave your job after this."

Christian stared right back at Ana, his expression mirroring her own. "Ana…" he began softly

"Christian, you know that I love you and that I'm not with you because of your money," Ana insisted, stepping toward him and placing her hand on his forearm. "You could be dirt poor and it wouldn't change my feelings for you one bit. But I also remember the day that I met you, and you showed me the GEH building - I could hear in your voice how proud you were of it, and how passionate you were about your work. I can't ask you to give all that up…"

"You're not asking me to do anything, baby," Christian said firmly, moving his hands up and placing them on Ana's shoulders, gazing deeply into her blue eyes. "I'm making the call on this, and I know that walking away from GEH is the best way to get Elena out of my life once and for all."

"But I just feel that -" Ana began, but then stopped, looking away. She felt the sting of tears fill her eyes, and she fought to keep the emotion out of her voice.

"What?" Christian asked, staring at her concernedly.

Ana looked up at him, blinking as tears blurred her vision. "I feel like you wouldn't be doing this if you had never met me," she confessed.

"Ana…"

Christian gazed into her tear-filled eyes, his expression a mixture of heartbroken and worried. He suddenly pulled Ana into his arms, embracing her tightly like he was trying to convey all his feelings for her with his touch. Ana buried her face into his shoulder, trying to reign in her emotions.

"Ana, there is nothing in this world that I wouldn't do for you," Christian said quietly after a moment, still holding her protectively in his arms. "And if I had to choose between you and all the money in the world, I would choose you in a heartbeat - no question. But the fact of the matter is that I'm not doing this for you… I'm doing this for me."

Ana pulled away slightly so she was looking Christian in the eye, and he gazed back at her, a firm resolve in his voice. "Elena has been a part of my life for far too long, and because of that, I had never noticed how much she was slowly but surely infecting every part of me. Not only in my personal life, but in my business as well… she's basically been selling me out in the BDSM world behind my back, and now she's making my company a front for illegal activity. My life clearly means nothing to her, and her presence will not stop infecting me unless I completely cut myself away from her. I'll never be rid of her otherwise."

Ana unwittingly conjured up an image of a creeping vine wrapping around a tree, getting tighter and tighter the higher it climbed. Christian obviously felt like that tree, trapped by the parasitic vine that was Elena Lincoln, and this was his last hope for finally being rid of her, once and for all.

He was going to uproot himself to escape her ever-tightening clutches.

Ana let out a sigh - as drastic as this decision of leaving GEH was, Ana knew that Christian needed this. And she would support him no matter what.

"Okay," she said quietly, her voice sincere. "Whatever you decide… I'll be there to support you. But what are you going to do after Ros takes over GEH?"

Christian sighed, finally letting go of Ana and dropping his hands to his sides. "I haven't decided yet," he admitted. "I have about 700 million dollars in my bank account as of right now, so money definitely won't be an issue. And I'll probably check in at GEH once in awhile over the next few years to see how Ros is holding up. But for the most part, it's really up in the air. Maybe I'll retire," he added as an afterthought.

Ana couldn't help but giggle, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around Christian's waist. "Retired before you're thirty? You'll be living the dream, Mr. Grey."

Christian chuckled as well, cupping Ana's face in his hands as he gazed lovingly into her eyes. "I already am, Miss Steele."

He leaned forward for a kiss, and Ana kissed him back, losing herself in her man as the two of them embraced.

* * *

~ **the next day** ~

 **CPOV**

Of all the risky decisions Christian had made in his career, this one that he was planning to do with Elena was by far the riskiest. There were so many variables, so many elements left up to chance, that if this were any other business decision, Christian wouldn't have even dared to attempt it. But considering the alternatives, he was willing to take this particular risk.

If it got Elena out of his life for good, it was worth it.

Christian doubted he ever hated someone in his life as much as he hated Elena Lincoln. This hatred could rival what he felt toward his birth mother, a resentment so deep and visceral he could almost taste it. If he could have the opportunity to cut out the memory of his birth mother, he would do it in a heartbeat, and now he had an opportunity to cut Elena out of his life for good, by God he was going to do it.

Even if it cost him his company.

Christian got up early Sunday morning and headed over to GEH so he could meet with Barney and Welch about the Elena situation. Even though he had insisted they all do as much of this work as possible on their personal computers so it wouldn't be tied back to the company, the three of them still needed some classified GEH information that could only be accessed at the office. Christian felt that early in the morning on a Sunday would ensure that no one else would be in the building at the time, just to be safe.

Christian arrived at GEH, and as he went up on the elevator to the top floor, the doors slid open and he immediately saw Barney and Welch standing near Andrea's empty desk with a third guy he hadn't anticipated being there.

Christian slowly stepped out of the elevator, staring at him in surprise.

 _What the hell…?_

"Mr. Grey," Jerry Roach said eagerly, looking over when he heard the elevator doors open. He strode toward Christian with a wide smile on his face and his hand outstretched. "You remember me, right? Jerry Roach, Seattle Independent Press - we met briefly at the SIP dinner event at the Radisson a few months ago."

"Yes, I remember," Christian said, politely shaking Roach's hand. He looked over at Barney and Welch, who both gave him bemused looks. They were clearly as surprised to see him here as Christian was.

"I apologize for dropping by unexpectedly on a Sunday like this," Roach said apologetically. "But I called your secretary several times this past week, but I guess she never got my messages to you. So I came by today in the hopes that you would be here, and luckily I met these two gentlemen in the lobby just as I arrived. They let me up here and told me you would be arriving soon, and so I thought I could talk to you briefly about GEH acquiring my company."

Christian didn't quite know what to say to that - acquiring new businesses was the absolute last thing on his mind right now, and Roach's avid persistence would have been more than enough reason for Christian to tell him to fuck off. But since this guy was his girlfriend's boss and Christian kind of felt obligated to him, he wasn't quite sure what to do.

He finally let out a sigh before looking over at Barney and Welch, both of whom still looked a bit uncomfortable. "Just head over to Barney's office right now, guys. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Yes sir," they said before turning around and heading down the hall toward where Barney's office was.

"Let's go into my office, Jerry," Christian said politely, gesturing to his office doors. "While normally I'd be more than happy to talk about acquiring a business like yours, I'm afraid I'm too busy at the moment to hash out any long-term plans with you. If you'd like, I can give you some professional advice on ways you can get a handle on your company's financials."

Roach, unfortunately, seemed persistent. "I was rather hoping we could discuss the prospect of GEH acquiring SIP sometime in the foreseeable future," Roach said firmly. They entered his office, and Christian led them over to his desk. "Could I schedule an appointment with you or one of your acquisitions directors sometime soon, perhaps when you're all less busy?" he asked expectantly.

Man, this guy was nothing if not persistent. "Jerry, I'm sorry, but with everything that's going on right now, I don't think that's going to be possible. Also, it's highly unusual for a potential acquisition to be pitched to us in the way that you're doing - often times, we just seek out the companies that we feel we can help."

"Well, if you just reviewed SIP's numbers…" Roach began hopefully.

"I already have," Christian interrupted him. "I looked into your company when I found out Anastasia worked for you, and for the most, part you're doing quite well. The only problem I could find is that your Quarter 4 projections are going to be a bit lower than from previous years, but that's most likely because of your new acquisitions editor."

Roach remained silent as he stared at Christian, and Christian knew he had hit the nail on the head.

"Jack Hyde is the reason why you want us to take over SIP, isn't it?" he asked, his question sounding more like a statement.

"...He's horrible," Roach admitted after a moment, a bitter frown marring his face. "He's rude, he never shows up for work, he makes all the women in the workplace uncomfortable… and I can't do anything about it. Jack's the state comptroller's son, and Stewart Hyde has made it abundantly clear to me that Jack needs to keep this job since he's unhirable everywhere else. If I fire Jack, Stewart will come down on me with all the power of the Washington state government, and he has enough pull to ruin my company if necessary."

Christian grimaced, understanding exactly the type of catch-22 situation Roach was in. It sounded far too familiar to his own problems with Elena. "I'm sorry you've had to deal with that," he said sincerely. "But you think that if GEH acquires SIP, I'll fire Jack for you without compromising your company?"

"Exactly," Roach said, an eager smile on his face. "We'd be protected by GEH, and once Jack's gone for good, SIP can be profitable once again. It would be a win-win for both of us."

He sounded so hopeful in his plan for saving his company, and Christian felt bad that he was going to be turning him down. "I'm sorry, Jerry, but GEH can't take SIP off your hands. Why do you feel like this is your only option?"

Roach's smile faded into a defeated look. "Because it is," he admitted forlornly. "I realize that it is kind of the coward's way out, but I honestly don't know what else to do. Jack is going to ruin SIP, and there's nothing I can do about it."

"But there is something you can do about it," Christian said firmly. "There's always something you can do about it - this is _your_ company that _you_ started, and if someone else comes in and tries to take that power from you, you have to fight like hell in order to keep it. Jack is going to destroy everything that you've built, and that is not acceptable. This is _your_ company, and you have to hold on to that power for yourself so that when push comes to shove, you'll be the one calling the shots. Even if you lose everything tomorrow, you can say that you fought for your company's best interests and you didn't leave it in the hands of someone else to do your dirty work for you. Take control - that's the best advice I can give you as a fellow business owner, Roach."

Roach didn't say anything to that - he only stared at Christian, as if considering his words. Christian simply clapped his hand on his shoulder before stepping past him and heading toward his door, knowing deep down those words were meant just as much for himself.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that chapter! Please feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think.**

 **If you'd like to follow my Pinterest board for this story, the link is www dot pinterest dot com/strawpaj/the-price-of-love/**


	14. What Binds Us

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! Here's the next chapter for you.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

 **Chapter 14: What Binds Us**

 **CPOV**

Christian worked for most of Sunday at GEH with Barney and Welch before he finally headed back to Escala that evening, hoping Ana was still there and waiting for him. He now knew how much she had been struggling to fully grasp his decision to give up his company, and to be perfectly honest, he struggled with this decision too. But the truth was that his gut was telling him it was the right move, and if becoming a business mogul in the world of mergers & acquisitions had taught him anything, it was that trusting his gut was always the right move when it came to making tough decisions.

Honestly, he was going to miss that aspect of working in acquisitions. That much was for sure.

As Christian drove down the streets of Seattle toward Escala, he heard his cell phone ring from the car's sound system. He glanced at the caller ID, and he let out a small sigh before hitting the green answer button on the center console:

"Hi Dad," he greeted.

" _Christian_ ," Carrick's voice came through the speakers of the R8. " _How are you, son?_ "

"I'm fine," Christian said, knowing what Carrick really wanted to know. "How are you and Mom?"

" _Well… honestly, we're both a bit worried about you,_ " Carrick said, sounding a bit hesitant. " _We haven't heard any news about what you discussed with us the other day. Has anything happened yet?_ "

Christian cleared his throat. "No, not yet. I was actually going to talk to you guys about that… there's been a bit of a change in plans."

" _What do you mean? Has there been a development?_ "

"Not a bad one, I promise" Christian assured him. "It's just… I think I figured out a different way to get rid of Elena. One that won't publicly ruin my name or cause a media outcry."

" _Wow, really?_ " Carrick sounded delighted. " _T_ _hat's great! So what's your plan?_ "

Christian cleared his throat again, feeling a bit uncomfortable. How would he go about laying out this entire situation to his dad? "It's hard to explain… there's a lot of elements to it, and I think I need to sit down with you and Mom so I can tell you everything."

" _Alright. Well, how about tomorrow evening?_ " Carrick asked. " _You and Ana can come out to Bellevue and have dinner with us. We could probably get Elliot and Mia to come too since they're pretty much in the dark about this whole situation anyway._ "

Christian resisted letting out a groan - he had almost forgotten about his brother and sister. "Yeah, I suppose that would be for the best."

" _It'll be fine, son,_ " Carrick said placatingly. " _I'm sure they'll understand. We'll see you tomorrow at around seven?_ "

"Sure, sounds good."

" _Alright. Goodbye, Christian._ "

"Bye Dad," Christian said before hitting end call. He felt a small pit form in his stomach at the prospect of talking about this with his entire family - while he knew that this was the right thing to do, he wasn't sure how they were going to react to the news of him giving up his entire company. He had to do it sooner or later, however, and this time he was glad he would have Ana by his side during the conversation.

* * *

 **~the next evening~**

Silence reigned amongst the Grey family.

Christian and Ana sat beside each other at the large dining room table at the Grey Estate, both of them silently waiting for someone to say something. Christian had just finished explaining the whole situation to everyone - about how he was going to hand his company over to Elena so she would be forced to give it to Ros, and how he was going to willingly step away from GEH so all this could unfold. Grace, Carrick, Mia and Elliot all listened to him explain his plan in complete silence, and now that he was finished, nobody seemed to want to speak first.

"Christian…" Carrick finally spoke up after almost a full minute of silence, although he seemed hesitant to continue. He finally shook his head "That's… that's just…"

"Batshit crazy," Elliot finished for his father.

"Elliot!" Grace chided her oldest son.

"No, he's right Mom - that plan is completely insane," Mia said emphatically, turning her wide-eyed gaze to Christian. "How could you not tell us about this, Christian? I mean, you've been going through all this shit with Elena because of what she's done to you - how could you not tell us about how much of a crazy bitch she is?"

"I'm not proud of what I used to do with her, and that isn't a part of my life I ever wanted to share with you guys," Christian admitted. "I'm embarrassed and ashamed of everything I used to be, and what Elena had essentially forced me to be. Now that she has me pushed into a corner with this whole Robinson Corporation business, I really don't have any other choice but to take drastic action against her so I can break free from her hold over me."

"Holy shit, you really are going to give up your entire company in order to save it, aren't you?" Elliot said, sounding almost in awe as he stared at his brother. "That's… kind of badass."

"It is a very bold move, son," Carrick conceded, looking over at Christian again. "Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?"

Christian let out a small sigh before exchanging a glance with Ana. She gave him a small smile before reaching over and giving his hand a gentle squeeze. It was her strength he needed right now, and she gave it to him willingly.

"Yes, I'm sure," Christian said with finality, turning back to his family. "Elena is toxic, and she has been a part of my life - a part of all of our lives - for far too long. I'm not going to let her get away with what she's done to all of us, and this is the best way we can ensure we get rid of her. I know that she likes to think she has control over me and all my decisions, but this is one decision I'll make that I know she's not going to anticipate."

"She definitely won't see this coming," Grace agreed, still looking a bit shocked by everything she'd just heard.

"Oh my God, I want to see the look on her face when she figures out that you totally screwed her over," Elliot suddenly grinned. "I bet it would be priceless!"

"So when is this all going to go down?" Mia asked Christian. "Is it soon?"

"Within the next few days," Christian nodded. "Barney and Welch are working their asses off to make sure everything's all said and done, and our lawyers have been informed about what we're doing. They're not very happy about it all, but they agreed to help oversee everything so it can all be as airtight as possible from a legal perspective, even if it's not entirely ethical."

"It's better to be safe than sorry in matters like this," Carrick said agreeably. "If there's any legal advice you need from me, I'd be more than willing to offer my services."

"Thanks Dad," Christian said gratefully. "I would definitely appreciate your input."

Before Carrick could respond, however, the sound of a cell phone ringing filled the room. Everybody instinctively glanced at their phones to see if it was theirs.

"It's mine," Ana said, pulling out her ringing cell phone. She frowned down at the screen. "It's Mr. Roach," she said bemusedly, glancing up at Christian with a confused expression on her face. "He didn't even come into work today."

Christian raised his eyebrows in surprise - he hadn't mentioned to Ana about the impromptu meeting he had had with Roach on Sunday since he wasn't sure if their candid conversation was something he could disclose to her. Could this be why he was calling her now? "Are you going to answer it?"

"I probably should," Ana said, glancing back at her phone with a grimace. "Excuse me." She got up from the table and headed off to another room so she could answer it.

"I hope everything's alright," Grace said, gazing after Ana's retreating figure before turning back to Christian. "So she's known about all of this business with Elena since it all started?"

Christian nodded. "Yes, she has. I actually think she feels a bit guilty about my decision of giving up my company. She thinks if she and I had never met, Elena wouldn't be doing this to me."

"What?" Carrick asked, looking flabbergasted. "That's ridiculous! Surely she doesn't think that way?"

"Ana's awesome," Mia insisted, and the others all nodded in agreement. "She's, like, the best thing that's ever happened to you! Elena's the evil old cow who's trying to ruin your life."

"I know," Christian conceded. "And I think that, deep down, Ana knows too… but I feel she's just struggling to wrap her head around this decision I made and wondering if all of this is going to be worth it in the end."

"It is a big leap, but I trust your judgement on this Christian," Carrick said seriously. "I only want what's best for you, and I know the best thing is to get Elena Lincoln as far away from us as possible. Even if your method is a rather, as Elliot put it, 'batshit crazy'… you'll still end up on top."

The others chuckled, and Christian couldn't help but smile. "I thought you guys would be angrier at me about all this," he couldn't help but say honestly.

"Sweetheart - you know all of us love you no matter what your situation in life is," Grace said gently, reaching forward and taking Christian's hand in her own. "You have come so far from that scared, four-year-old boy we adopted all those years ago. The wealth you have now is the result of years of hard work and dedication, but even if you didn't earn all of this money and you had chosen a different path in life, we would still love you just the same. And I know Ana would too."

Christian couldn't help but smile at his mother, feeling his heart pound with deep love for his family and appreciation for the unwavering support they gave him.

"Thanks Mom," he said sincerely. Deep down, he knew what she said was the truth.

"…Does this mean I'm gonna have to start shopping with my own credit cards now?" Mia suddenly asked after a few moments of silence, and everyone else at the table couldn't help but laugh.

~/~

Christian continued to talk to his family in more detail about his plan to take down Elena, which was nearing completion now. Barney and Welch were going over every detail with the legal team to make sure the documents they fabricated were airtight. It was a long and tedious process, but it was necessary since it would be what would put the final nail in Elena's proverbial coffin.

"Hey, where did Ana go?" Mia asked, frowning as she looked around at everybody sitting at the table. "Is she still on her phone call?"

Christian checked his watch and was surprised to see over half an hour passed since Ana had left to take her phone call. He stood up, feeling suddenly worried.

"I'll go find her."

He walked through the house's first floor, peering into the rooms to see where Ana had gone off to. He was just about to check outside on the back patio when he walked into the family room and immediately noticed Ana standing and leaning against the windowsill on the far wall, gazing pensively out the window. Her smartphone was clutched in her hand against her crossed arms.

"Hey," Christian said, walking in and closing the door behind him. "Everything okay?"

Ana didn't say anything for a moment before she blinked and turned toward Christian. There was a certain look in her eye that Christian almost interpreted as maudlin. "Did my boss talk to you at all recently?" she asked quietly after a moment.

Christian hesitated, unsure of how to respond to that. "Yeah, he did. He came by GEH yesterday," he said. "Is that what he called about?"

Ana didn't respond - she silently turned to gaze down at her feet, the sad look in her eyes making Christian's heart break slightly.

"Baby, I'm sorry for not telling you I spoke with him," Christian said gently, taking a step toward her. "But he and I were discussing matters pertaining to his business, and I didn't think it was appropriate to divulge that information to you."

"I know," Ana said, finally looking up. "I know you guys spoke about SIP. That's what he called me about…"

She sounded close to tears at this point, and Christian distinctly heard her sniff as she turned back to look out the window again. Worried, Christian moved forward and put his hand on her back, offering what little comfort he could.

 _What the hell had Roach said to her that upset her this much?_

"Baby, what's going on?" he asked concernedly, running his hand along her back soothingly. "What did he say to you?"

Ana hesitated another moment or two, and finally she looked at Christian, her blue eyes glimmering with unshed tears. "I just…" she paused before shaking her head. "I don't know what to think. I didn't realize that SIP was doing so badly, or that Jack Hyde was tanking our entire company…"

She went quiet again, and Christian could only look at her, regret and sadness sweeping through his body as he realized why she was so upset. "Is Roach shutting down SIP?"

Ana shook her head again, looking distressed. "No. He's moving the company to California."

Christian stopped, temporarily struck dumb by that statement. "Wait - what?"

 _California?_

"That's why Roach called me… he said he wanted to meet with me first thing in the morning tomorrow to talk, and I immediately took that to mean he was going to fire me. I got scared, and so I pushed him to tell me over the phone what he wanted to talk to me about, and he admitted that he spoke with you about SIP and about Jack Hyde. He said that you gave him the advice to take control of his company, no matter what the cost, and not let anybody take it away from him. So he got in touch with a friend of his down in Anaheim who owns a publishing house called Porter Books, and he's going to merge SIP with them within the next few months. Roach said that Hyde's father can't stop him from moving his company to another state, and this way Jack can be let go without any incident. Roach will also be able to maintain most of the company's clients and assets since SIP can publish remotely. It's a win-win, both for him and his company."

Christian raised his eyebrows, surprised at Roach for coming to that solution all on his own. "So… he's going to fire you because he's moving out to California? That's what he wanted to talk to you about?"

"No," Ana said, and she bit her lip worriedly. "He wants me and a few other SIP employees to move down to California with him."

Christian was speechless. He honestly didn't know how to respond to that.

"I couldn't believe it at first," Ana went on, still looking upset. "I thought he was joking - I mean, I'm the newest employee at SIP! Wouldn't he want some other, more experienced worker to go with him? But he told me that he meant it when he said I was one of the best new hires he's had in awhile, and that I exemplified everything that the publishing industry should be about. He said he wants to train me so I can eventually have the acquisitions editor position Jack's leaving behind, but he knows that since I have a life and ties back here in Seattle, he'll give me some time to think about it."

"Ana…" Christian pulled Ana into his arms, and he held her tightly. Ana hugged him back, but he could sense how conflicted she was about this decision. "This is incredible news."

"No, it's not Christian," Ana pulled away, distressed tears still in her eyes. "How is this good news? I can't deal with all of this right now."

"No, baby - it _is_ good news," Christian said earnestly. "It's fantastic - you're barely two years out of college, and you're getting a huge promotion and an amazing job offer in California. How is that not incredible?"

"Because I can't do it, Christian," Ana said, tears now sliding down her cheeks. "I know it's a great opportunity and everything, but the job's in an entirely different state. I can't just uproot my whole life and move down there! My life is here - with my friends and my family. And with you... I just can't do it."

Ana closed her tear-filled eyes and looked down to the floor, clearly upset about this situation, but Christian felt oddly at peace. With everything that was happening with him and Elena here in Seattle, all it did was reaffirm how much he wanted to be with Ana. She was his whole world - his future. When he pictured himself ten years down the road, he only saw her.

He would do just about anything to make Ana happy, and this job in California would clearly do that for her. It would allow her to reach her full potential while fulfilling all of her wildest dreams of working in the publishing industry. Christian knew, deep down in his heart, that this was the right decision for them.

He gently cupped Ana's face in his hands and touched his forehead to hers. "What if I came with you?"

Ana seemed to freeze for a moment, not saying a word, before slowly pulling away and staring at Christian in disbelief. "What?"

"What if I came with you to California?" Christian emphasized, bringing his hands down and taking Ana's in his own. "We could find a place together down in Anaheim, just you and me. What do you say?"

Ana looked utterly speechless. She stared at Christian as if he had grown two heads. "Wh-? I... I don't..." she stammered, shaking her head. "Christian... this is too much. I could never ask you to do that for me."

"You're not asking me to do anything," Christian insisted, smiling at her in reassurance. "I want to be with you, Ana - it doesn't matter where we are. We could be here in Seattle, or down in California… hell, we could go live in Antarctica for all I care. As long as we're together, I'll be right at home."

Ana looked touched by his words, though worry still clouded her blue eyes. "But what about your situation with Elena and GEH right now? And what about your family? Everybody we know is here, Christian - we can't be making these huge life-changing decisions right now…"

"Yes, we can baby - now _is_ the time," Christian brought his hand up again to cup her tear-stained cheek, gazing deep into her eyes. "GEH will be in Ros's hands soon, and I'm free to go wherever I want. My future is no longer with my company, so why can't it be with the woman I love?"

Ana let out a small breath, once again struck dumb by his words. Tears continued to slip down her cheeks as she stared into Christian's eyes. "You'd really move to California with me?"

Christian smiled, feeling his own chest fill with a powerful emotion he had never experienced before meeting Anastasia. "Yes, I would. But only if you want me to."

Ana suddenly launched herself into Christian's arms, pressing her lips to his in a fervent, passionate kiss. Christian wrapped his arms tightly around Ana, kissing her back with equal exuberance - he could feel her tears against his face as they embraced, and the soaring euphoria in Christian's heart was unmatched by any feeling he had ever experienced before in his life.

He was going to move to California with the love of his life. Nothing else in the world seemed to matter anymore.

* * *

 **A/N: This story is called "The Price of Love" for a reason.**

 **I know many of you were expecting me to go a certain route, one where Christian backtracked on his decision and found a way to keep GEH, but that's not what I'm doing. I'm trying something completely different with this story - something I've always wanted to read about in an FSOG fic, but I could never really find if anyone had written it. So I decided to explore the topic myself: _what if_ _Christian gave up his wealth for the sake of love?_**

 **At the end of the day, that's what pushes me as an author - getting to write stuff that I would want to read myself, no matter how different or strange it might be.**

 **I'm wrapping up the story soon, and if you don't want to read the conclusion, feel free to stop right now. If you enjoyed this chapter, however, leave a review and let me know what you thought.**

 **And make sure you follow my Pinterest board for this story at www dot pinterest dot com/strawpaj/the-price-of-love/**


	15. Looking Ahead

**A/N: I deeply appreciate all your guys' reviews and support! Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Looking Ahead**

Ana and Christian made it back to Escala much later that evening - it was a bit later than they had originally anticipated, since Grace and Carrick kept insisting Christian and Ana ought to stay over for the night at the estate. Christian and Ana refused, however, giving the excuse that Christian had to be up early tomorrow for work - that wasn't necessarily untrue, however it was moreso because of the decision the two of them had made together that night and hadn't told the others about yet. The decision to move to California together.

The decision to plan their future together.

The choice they made tonight was more than just the two of them agreeing on something - Christian and Ana truly loved one another, and this was the two of them committing to a future together. A future where they could be whoever they wanted to be. No matter what happened to them in the coming days and months, and no matter what obstacles came their way, as long as they had each other, they would be okay.

Their decision - as drastic as it was - was a cause for celebration.

The moment Ana and Christian made it to Escala and were alone in the elevator together, they lunged at each other, their lips crashing together in a fierce, passionate kiss. Their arms immediately wrapped around each other, their hands grasping each other's clothes, and their tongues battling for dominance, eliciting small moans from each other. Christian took a few steps forward, pushing Ana back and up against the elevator wall.

"…Fuck, baby, I want you," he whispered against her, biting down on her plump bottom lip and eliciting another small moan from her.

"Yes," she whispered back, bringing her hands up to his head and tugging on his copper locks.

Both of them would have been perfectly okay to fuck right there against the elevator wall, but before either of them could start taking off their clothes, the doors dinged open to reveal the penthouse foyer. Christian immediately grasped Ana by her waist, and lifted her up so her long legs hooked around his torso without breaking their connection.

Christian made his way out the elevator and toward the staircase leading up to his bedroom, and considering how much he was wrapped up in his beautiful girlfriend right now, it seemed like a miracle that they made it to his bed without crashing into anything.

Once they were in his bedroom, and with an almost furious passion, they began tugging and pulling each other's clothes off, desperate for the skin-to-skin contact they craved with one another.

"I love you so much," Ana whispered, breaking away from his lips long enough to tug her shirt up over her head, exposing her in her white, lace-covered bra. The deep love and affection showcased in her eyes was real, and Christian almost wanted to stop and savor her words to him, taking a moment to silently let her love wash over him. However, right now, his need for her was too great.

"God, baby - I love you too," Christian murmured back, holding her around her waist. Her skin was soft and smooth to the touch, "No matter where we go in life, I will always love you."

His words were sincere, and he could feel from the depths of his soul the unending love he had for her, and he could see just from the look in her eyes that she felt the same way about him. It was a heady feeling, and Christian felt as if he were floating on cloud nine as he leaned down and captured Ana's lips with his own.

Ana kissed him back with an equal amount of reverence and love, and Christian could feel her urgency as her fingers tugged at his hair so that they would lay down on the bed together. Christian immediately crawled up onto the bed so he was hovering over her, both of their nearly-naked bodies lined up from head to toe.

"Baby…" Christian whispered, pulling back slightly so his lips ghosted over hers as he stared deeply into her eyes. Just like earlier that evening at the Grey Estate, he looked into her eyes and saw his future - it felt like everything in his life was just leading up to finding this woman, and there weren't enough words in the English language to describe how much he loved her.

And by some miracle of God, she loved him back.

With quick work, the two of them discarded of the rest of their clothes, leaving both of them completely naked and wanting, their breaths coming in shallow pants as their skin flushed with need. With a moan, Ana wrapped her legs around Christian's waist and held him close as they kissed again, Ana letting out a moan of pleasure as he slowly entered her.

"Fuck, Ana," Christian groaned, burying his face in the crook of her neck. They had joined together countless times, but this time felt different - it was like all the times they had made love before was leading up to this moment. Like this time was a promise for a lifetime together.

 _Fuck, am I actually thinking about spending my whole life with Ana?_

Christian had never considered marriage before - being caught up in BDSM and being under Elena's influence for so long had always made him think that marriage wasn't even in the cards for him. But now… now that he had Ana, and he was getting rid of Elena once and for all, his mind was opening up to millions of other possibilities. After knowing what it felt like to love someone and to be loved back, Christian now understood why people went through serious, long-term relationships so that one day they could make those sacred vows to one another.

Sacred vows that promised to have and told hold, to love and to cherish, till death do they part…

Christian knew beyond a doubt he wanted that with Ana.

He wasn't going to ask her to marry him just yet - it wasn't the right time. Not with everything that was going on right now. But once they were together and settled in their new home in California, he would figure out the best way in which to ask her.

God, he couldn't wait until that day came.

"Christian," Ana moaned his name, bringing him back to the present. Her eyes were squeezed shut as he thrusted in and out of her, drawing out her pleasure while bringing himself close to the edge. Groaning, Christian leaned down and began to nip and bite at Ana's earlobe, causing her to gasp with pleasure at the sensation.

"…God, I love you," Christian whispered into her ear - the vulnerability he felt at this very moment made his heart speed up to a frenetic pace, and the look of pleasure on Ana's beautiful face made it all worth it.

"I love you too, Christian," she whispered back, her thighs clenching around his waist and drawing him in deeper. "I always will."

Her words, spoken so sweetly and sincerely, were almost too much for Christian. He looked deep into her blue eyes as he continued to fuck her, harder and deeper, drawing cries of ecstasy to come from her mouth as he drove into her.

"Come on, baby," Christian ground out, continuing to thrust in and out of her. "Come for me."

"Ahh!" Ana cried out, and she suddenly began to shudder heavily, her powerful orgasm coming over her in a wave of pure ecstasy " _Fuck_!"

"Fuck, baby!" Christian yelled out as well, thrusting into her several more times before suddenly stilling, shooting his seed deep inside of her as he came. Christian groaned as he felt her clench around his dick, drawing out his pleasure all the more, and he knew that nothing could ever feel as good as the feeling of his girl coming around him right before he came inside her.

 _Fucking perfect._

For a few silent minutes, the two of them panted as they came down from their orgasms, Christian slowly thrusting in and out of her pussy. After what felt like an eternity, Christian pulled out of her, and gently pressed his forehead to hers, his eyes closed as he basked in the afterglow of what he and Ana had just done.

 _God, I love this girl._

As if she could read his thoughts, Ana leaned up and captured Christian's lips with her own, smiling against his mouth as she did so. Christian couldn't help but smile too as he kissed her back, the ravenous bear inside of him sated slightly after that round of thorough lovemaking.

He couldn't wait to begin the rest of his life with this girl.

* * *

 **~The next day~**

It was five o'clock in the evening, and Grey House was closing down for the day.

Christian stood gazing out his office's floor-to-ceiling window, watching the sunset on the horizon spreading oranges and reds across the sky in a beautiful display. Down below, GEH workers were flocking out of the building in droves, heading to their respective homes for the end of the day, but Christian had no desire to follow them out. Right now, he longed for the solitude of his empty office building, which he had enjoyed many times before in the past. Back during the days before he had met Ana, he would often stay at the office past midnight, working on high profile projects or new acquisitions deals. He was very driven back then, almost to a fault.

After all was said and done, he didn't know how many more times he would be able to enjoy this type of solitude.

Slowly, Christian turned and walked over to the wet bar off to the side of his window, picking up the full bottle of Glenfiddich and pouring himself two fingers of scotch. Swirling it around in his glass, he took a small sip, feeling the cool liquid burn on the way down.

It was the perfect salve to cool his resolve on what he was preparing himself to do.

Christian walked back to his desk, setting his glass of scotch down beside his keyboard before sitting down. He pulled his BlackBerry out of his suit pocket, and he gazed at it for a moment or two, as if he were hesitating to do something.

After several long moments of contemplation, he pushed a couple buttons on the phone and brought it up to his ear.

After a couple rings, someone on the other end picked up:

" _Christian_ ," he heard Elena say after a moment. There was clear surprise in her voice. " _It's been awhile_."

Christian fought the wave of revulsion he felt upon hearing her voice for the first time in weeks. "So it has."

" _To what do I owe the pleasure?_ "

Christian couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic, but he honestly didn't care if she was. "…I think you know," he said quietly after a moment.

There was a short silence on the other end. " _I'm afraid I don't,_ " Elena said, though Christian could tell even through the phone she was lying.

"I've known you my whole life, Elena. You think I don't know when you're bullshitting me?"

Elena had the gall to chuckle at him. " _You were always a smart one, dear, but I'm afraid I truly don't know what you're talking about. Is this about the salons?_ "

Christian didn't respond for a second or two, and he reached over to pick up his glass of scotch. "It's about Robinson Corporation."

There was a short pause on Elena's end. " _Robinson Corporation,_ " she repeated after a moment. " _Am I supposed to know what that is?_ "

"Yes - you know what I'm talking about, Elena," Christian said tersely. "And this call isn't being recorded in case you were worried. It's just me, so cut the shit."

There was another silence on the other end, as if Elena was considering his words. "… _Well, you can't blame me for being careful,_ " she responded after a moment, her voice noticeably cooler. " _I'd thought you would have figured it out long before now, darling… when did you figure it out anyway?_ "

Christian chose to ignore her question. "Why are you doing this, Elena?" he asked, his voice quiet. "I'm trying to understand, but I can't."

" _It's quite simple, darling_ ," Elena said in a lighthearted voice that made Christian's skin crawl. " _A man of your business acumen ought to be able to figure out how an illegal shell corporation will look to the SEC… and you know that I'm the only one who can make it all go away._ "

"I could report you," Christian said, turning to gaze at the sunset outside his window. "I could tell the authorities what you're doing to my company."

" _And risk me exposing your past lifestyle to the public? Oh please, Christian, I thought you were smarter than that,_ " Elena said, her voice oozing with fake sympathy. It seemed as if playing dumb was working for him, since Elena was apparently none the wiser. " _But like I said, I can make it all go away for you if you'd like._ "

"I assume you 'making it all go away' is contingent upon me returning to the lifestyle?" Christian asked skeptically. "How stupid do you think I am?"

" _Oh no, dear, I don't expect you to come back to the lifestyle - although it's clear being a Dominant is the only thing that can give you the control you need,_ " Elena said silkily. " _No… I just want you to break up with Anastasia._ "

This made Christian pause. "What?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

" _You heard me,_ " Elena said smoothly. " _Break up with your girlfriend, and I'll make Robinson Corporation disappear completely._ "

Christian didn't say anything for several long moments. He knew his silence would make Elena think he was considering her offer.

"I don't think you need me to tell you that that's ridiculous," he said finally, his voice angry. "Of course I'm not going to break up with Ana… and even if I did, what do you think's going to happen afterward? You think I'm automatically going to go back to the lifestyle and let you keep making money off of me?"

" _I should think not_ _, but you and I already know that that ship has sailed,_ " Elena said. " _No, I want you to break things off with Anastasia so that you'll finally realize the truth - she isn't what you need. She never could be because love is for fools, and_ you _were a fool for even thinking you could have it in your life. Leaving her is for your own good, darling._ "

Christian tried to keep his cool, but the anger and hatred he felt for Elena seemed to bubble up into a boiling heat, turning his emotions into a burning rage. "Fuck you, Elena," he hissed.

" _I wouldn't mind that at all_ _,_ " Elena chuckled flirtatiously, a note of delight in her voice. " _But_ _I take it you're not agreeing to my terms then? It's not as if you have much of a choice._ "

Christian dearly wanted to argue that he did in fact have a choice, but refrained. "You're a psychopath," he said after a moment, his jaw tight. "You're completely insane - not just because your precious salons will be ruined along with GEH, but you're going through all this trouble over a girl."

" _No Christian - you are allowing all this trouble to happen over a girl,_ " Elena corrected him, her voice low with restrained anger. " _I never wanted to resort to this, but you've apparently given me no choice. I have a reputation to uphold and a living to earn, and your little foray into vanilla has cost me too much. I won't allow it anymore, and so I'm going to ensure you never, ever cross me again. Do you understand?_ "

Christian paused another moment or two, attempting to control the anger and revulsion he felt for her. "Goodbye Elena," he said in a low voice before hanging up, not bothering to wait for a reply.

 _Goodbye forever you dumb bitch._

Without wasting a second, Christian dialed Welch and brought the phone to his ear.

" _Yeah boss?_ " Welch answered after the first ring.

"Will we be able to move ahead with the plan by tomorrow?"

" _It's as good a time as any, I suppose,_ " he said, the hesitancy in his voice making it clear he knew the risks associated with this plan.

Christian turned to gaze out the window once again. The sun had completely set now, and the clear blue dusk now filled the evening sky. "The plan's a go, first thing tomorrow morning. Tell the others."

" _Yes, sir._ "

Christian hung up without saying goodbye, a plethora of emotions filling his body, the most predominant one being determination.

 _Time to take the bitch down._

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that chapter! Next one will have the much-anticipated downfall of our very own Mrs. Robinson.**

 **If you liked this chapter, please leave a review! And if you're not doing so already, make sure you follow my Pinterest board for this story at www dot pinterest dot com/strawpaj/the-price-of-love/**


	16. In the Company of Wolves

**A/N: Thank you all for your support and patience! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

 **Chapter 16: In the Company of Wolves**

 **EPOV**

Elena knew from the moment she woke up the following morning that it was going to be a good day. She had been wondering for awhile if Christian would have ever figured out that she was behind Robinson Corporation - honestly, she had to give herself major credit for pulling that one off. When she had first implemented that shell corporation, she wasn't sure if Baxter would follow through with it - he was such a straight arrow when it came to his business, but he was her only shot at getting Robinson Corporation planted into GEH. That idiot actually followed through on her threat, and ended up quitting only days afterward to keep himself separated from what he had done.

Good riddance - Elena felt that someone as spineless as Baxter leaving GEH was doing the company a favor.

And then Christian had finally called her up yesterday to complain about it all. About damn time, too - she wasn't sure if he was going to figure out she was behind it all. And it wasn't as if knowing everything had done him any good.

 _He's as good as mine_.

Elena now smiled to herself as she sauntered out of her bedroom in a short silk robe, and headed downstairs into the main part of her penthouse apartment. She enjoyed living at the Olivian Apartments, mainly because it reminded her so much of Escala - however, since Christian would pitch a fit if she resided in the same building as him, the Olivian had to suffice.

After clicking on the TV to the local news station, Elena then made her way into the spacious kitchen to make her usual breakfast of egg-white omelets with a side of wheat toast and a cappuccino. Usually Isaac would be the one to make this breakfast for her, but he was away on a business trip until later today - she would be sure to order him into her playroom the moment he got home. She needed some one-on-one time with her little pet.

Despite not having gotten a session in her playroom the previous night, Elena was still in a fantastic mood this morning. She had managed to ruin Christian's company through her own ingenuity and resourcefulness, and getting this win felt way too satisfying.

 _That lovesick idiot will finally get what's coming to him._

Elena made her way into the great room where the TV was still on, She was waiting for her omelet to finish, and she idly sipped her cappuccino as she listened to the anchorwoman on the television talk about the latest news in Seattle:

"… _And in today's business news, some unexpected changes have been announced this morning by the Seattle-based acquisitions company, Grey Enterprise Holdings_ ," the anchorwoman spoke to the camera, and Elena paused, staring at the screen in confusion.

 _What?_

A picture of Christian appeared on the screen - it was a nice shot of him at a gala or something, for he was dressed in a fine suit and was smiling widely at the camera. The newscaster continued:

" _In a move that has surprised many in the Seattle corporate world, Chief Executive Officer Christian Trevelyan Grey has announced this morning that he will be stepping down from his position as CEO, effective immediately. Mr. Grey has declined to comment on his sudden departure, but another representative of GEH has confirmed that he has already chosen a successor. Who his successor is, however, has yet to be announced._ "

Elena stood frozen in shock, and she could only stare at the TV screen, trying to absorb what she had just seen and heard.

Christian had left GEH effective immediately? What the hell was he thinking - that if he stepped down from his company, she wouldn't be able to blackmail him? Something was clearly going on here. There was no way in hell he would just walk away from GEH like this.

What the hell was his angle?

Still in a bit of shock, Elena set down her coffee cup and walked over to her cell phone, which was sitting on the breakfast counter. She quickly dialed Christian, but was immediately met with his voicemail - she tried calling him two more times, and by the third failed attempt, she angrily tossed her phone aside, her rage building in a swift crescendo. How dare Christian pull this bullshit and just ignore her as if nothing happened!

But wait… Elena paused for a moment to think. Perhaps nothing _did_ happen. Christian would never part with GEH, not in a million years. Something else was going on here, Elena was sure of it, and more than likely this news of him leaving the company was a bluff. Why he was doing this remained to be seen, but Elena felt confident he wasn't actually leaving his own company, despite what the news said.

Resolved, Elena strode back over to her coffee table to where her Macbook Pro was sitting. She quickly powered it on and went straight online to her business email, which was linked to the GEH server. She was going to send Christian a strongly worded email that urged him to contact her as soon as possible.

As soon as she logged on, however, she was surprised to see she had gotten over a dozen new emails from various GEH executives, none of whom she had had any previous correspondence with. She scrolled through them all, and was surprised most of them were messages of congratulations and support.

 _What the hell?_

Elena finally reached the first new email from early this morning, and saw it was a mass email to the entire company:

 **To: All Employees**

 **From: Grey Enterprise Holdings LLC**

 **RE: The New CEO**

 _To all employees and subsidiaries of GEH:_

 _The Chief Executive Officer and founder of Grey Enterprise Holdings, Mr. Christian Trevelyan Grey, has announced that he will be stepping down from his post as CEO of this company. In his place, Mr. Grey has appointed fellow business owner and dear family friend Elena Lincoln to take up his post._

 _We wish Ms. Lincoln the best of luck in becoming the new face of our company, and we have every confidence she will help lead GEH into a bright and prosperous future._

 _For any questions you may have about our changes in management, contact the GEH human resources department at 541-555-1774._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Grey Enterprise Holdings LLC Executive Team_

Elena could only stare at her computer screen in a daze, not realizing her breakfast sat burning on the stove behind her.

* * *

 **RPOV**

Ros stood in front of the desk in Christian's old office, Holden and several other members of the GEH legal team on either side of her. She had asked Trevor from the security team to let her know once Elena arrived at GEH, but unfortunately, none of them could know when Elena would finally see that email sent to the entire company, or perhaps catch the morning newscast. But they were willing to wait until she did.

If Christian knew how this was going to play out, Ros knew that she had to trust him on this.

Finally, at around ten o'clock, Trevor called them from downstairs to say that Elena had arrived at GEH. Ros quickly checked to see if all their papers and documents were in order on top of the desk, which they were, and she straightened up while taking a deep, steadying breath in order to ready herself. It was now the moment of truth, and she hoped she was prepared enough to help Christian bring Elena down once and for all.

A minute or so passed before the doors to the office burst open and Elena Lincoln strode in, looking very sophisticated and put-together in a gray dress and matching blazer with nude heels. The expression on her face was difficult to decipher, but there was definitely anger simmering beneath her heavily made-up eyes and Botoxed face.

Everyone in the room began to applaud, just as they'd planned to do when Elena walked in, and she stopped in her tracks, stunned.

"Congratulations, Elena," Ros said with a large, genuine smile on her face. "On behalf of all the staff at Grey Enterprise Holdings, I would like to welcome you to your new position as Chief Executive Officer. You must be so proud."

Elena didn't respond right away as she glanced around the room of lawyers and executives. "Where's Christian?" she asked in a demanding voice.

Ros pretended to look confused. "What?"

" _Where's Christian?_ " Elena repeated herself slowly and pointedly, taking several more steps forward. "I want to speak with him about this ridiculous idea that I'm taking over this company!"

"Why is it so ridiculous?" Ros asked, still with an air of confusion. "Haven't you two been planning this takeover for months?"

"Oh, cut the shit Bailey," Elena snapped, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes. "I don't know what the hell you and Christian are playing at, but it stops now."

"We're not playing at anything," Ros said innocently, taking a packet of documents from Holden and handing them to Elena. "Look right here - Grey Enterprise Holdings is legally yours."

Elena snatched the papers from Ros's hands and glanced over them, her eyes reading over the contract drawn up by the GEH lawyers a couple days ago. Elena flipped through the pages until she got to the end, where she looked startled at what was at the bottom.

"That's my signature," she said, blinking as she glanced back up at Ros. "I didn't fucking sign this!"

"Really? Because it looks like you did," Ros countered glibly.

Elena looked angry enough to breathe fire. "Are you fucking kidding me? Where the fuck is Christian?" she demanded again, brandishing the packet of papers in her hand. "There is no way in hell I will ever believe he is leaving his company to me! Is this some sort of sick joke?"

"It's a joke in the same way embezzling money is a joke," Ros said with a straight face.

Elena seemed to freeze completely, staring at Ros as if she couldn't believe what she had heard. After a moment, however, she started to laugh - it was a loud, malicious type of laughter that had no humor behind it whatsoever, and Ros and the others simply stared at Elena, waiting for her to stop.

"…Oh, _now_ I see," she finally said, her laughter dying into humorless chuckles. " _Now_ I understand… wow, I must say, I was not expecting this move from him. It is bold, I'll give him that."

"What are you talking about?" Ros asked innocently.

"All of this," Elena gestured to the room at large. "This… _ruse_ to make me think I'm responsible for an entire billion-dollar company that's laundering money through an illegal shell corporation. I know that Christian knows, and I know all of you know, too, so cut the shit. Where's Christian? I'm not talking to anyone but him about this."

"Christian's gone," Ros said plainly. "He and Ana are far away from here, and more importantly, they're far away from _you_."

"You think you're so clever, don't you?" Elena sneered, holding up the papers again. "I never signed these, therefore I am not the owner of this company."

"Your signature is on it," Ros countered firmly. "And you have no proof to say otherwise. If you choose to take this to court, my team and I will be happy to testify against you - we'll say you've been an active part of the GEH acquisitions team for over a year now, and that you've been signing off on a majority of our larger subsidiaries. Your resistance to taking on the role of CEO right now is just be due to nerves... you've always been a valued member of our staff, Ms. Lincoln, and we have the proof to back it up."

Ros gestured to the stack of documents sitting behind her on Christian's old desk, and Elena paled slightly, realizing what that was. "Why are you doing this to me?" she finally asked, her voice demanding, though there was a hint of trepidation behind her words. "You're telling me Christian's grand scheme on getting back at me was to just give me his company?"

"Yes," Ros nodded with a sweet smile. "Did it work?"

Elena blinked, glancing around at the other lawyers and executives standing around, as if waiting for one of them to tell her it was all a joke. No one spoke, however, and Elena looked almost dejected. "Well then…" she straightened herself up slightly, as if trying to maintain a modicum of composure, and she crossed her arms. "What exactly is stopping me from firing all of you right now and running GEH straight into the ground?"

"Leverage," Ros stated without missing a beat. "You don't think we've kept extremely detailed records of you secretly planting Robinson Corporation into GEH, Ms. Lincoln? We all know far too much about you, Elena, and we'll be sure to send all of our information to the IRS before you even file your first financial report."

Elena looked positively livid now - she was still trying to maintain her composure, but she was visibly shaking in anger as she glared daggers at Ros. "So, what - I'm screwed either way? That hardly seems fair."

"As if fairness is something that really matters to you," Ros rolled her eyes. "There is a third option, though… you can simply hand GEH over to me and you won't be responsible for anything -"

"Yes, I'll do that," Elena interrupted quickly.

"…On the condition," Ros went on firmly. "That you remove any and all evidence of Robinson Corporation from the GEH database. As far as you're concerned, it never existed, and in return my team and I won't come forward to the IRS about your shell corporation. You won't have to run GEH, and you'll get walk away scot-free. It's a win-win."

Elena didn't say anything for a moment, obviously turning everything around in her mind as she considered Ros's offer. Obviously, to Elena this wasn't a win-win situation… she had been expecting to come out on top, only to find that Christian had turned the tables on her and completely screwed her over. She was clearly trying to figure out a way out of this, but was coming up blank, and Ros's steady glare wasn't helping matters.

After a moment, Ros took a step forward and held out her hand for Elena to shake. "Do we have a deal?"

Elena only stared at Ros's hand, her whole body practically shaking with suppressed rage. She inhaled sharply through her nose before looking up at Ros, livid. "I would like to speak to Christian first," she said evenly, though her voice quivered slightly in anger. "Otherwise no deal."

"He's gone, Elena," Ros said with finality. "He handed his company over to you, and then he walked away - there's nothing more to it. Now you can stay with the company and risk getting exposed, or you can hand it over to me and walk away quietly. So what's it going to be?"

Ros still held out her hand, and Elena still refused to take it. She shook her head as if shaking off a pesky fly. "No," she said angrily, glaring around at the others. "Christian didn't leave! He's here! He wouldn't do this - he wouldn't just walk away from his entire multi-billion dollar company for a FUCKING GIRL!"

She suddenly stormed over to the nearest end table and grabbed the vase on it, reeling back and chucking it as hard as she could toward the other side of the room - it landed on the solid marble floor and smashed into a thousand pieces. In a flash, Trevor and another security guy rushed forward and grabbed Elena by the arms, restraining her. She struggled and fought against her captors, but they were too strong, and they held her firmly in her place.

Ros took a few steps forward until she was right in front of Elena, glaring her right in the eyes. Once again she held out her hand out for her to shake.

"I will ask you one more time," Ros said in a quiet, serious voice. "If you don't comply to our terms, I will report you to the SEC, regardless of whether or not you hand over GEH. Now Ms. Lincoln… _do we have a deal_?"

Elena stared at Ros with wide eyes before glancing down at her outstretched hand, obviously trying to think of a way out of this. It was fruitless, however, because after several prolonged seconds of hesitation, Elena finally pulled her right arm out of Trevor's grasp and clasped her hand with Ros's, willingly giving up what little power she had.

Ros nodded to the security men flanking Elena, and without a word they began to drag her from the office. Elena, surprised, began to struggle and yell, screaming at them to let her go while yelling curses at Ros. Finally, they had gotten her through the door, and her shouts faded in the distance.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you to everyone who sent me lovely messages of support over the past week :) They truly meant a lot.**

 **Anyway, if you enjoyed this chapter please leave a review! And be sure to check out my Pinterest board for this story at www dot pinterest dot com/strawpaj/the-price-of-love/**


	17. A California Adventure

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

 **Chapter 17: A California Adventure**

The city of Seattle had its usual gloomy and dreary weather today, with the sky blanketed in a thick layer of cold gray clouds that threatened rain and thunderstorms. However, this weather didn't bother Christian all that much, because once their plane had taken off from SeaTac and had risen thousands of feet in the air, the gray clouds hovering over Seattle sank far below them, disappearing completely into the ether. Bluer, sunnier skies now surrounded them, shimmering across the entire horizon and making everything look bright, cheerful and happy.

Christian could count on one hand how many times he had taken an actual commercial flight to a destination rather than flying in his company's private jet, but now that he was no longer the head of GEH, the private jet wasn't exactly an option anymore. So Christian was going to have to get used to different luxuries in life - or rather _fewer_ luxuries.

But commercial flights had their advantages, he supposed, since Ana seemed to be enjoying herself flying business class with him.

"Look at this - it's an automatic egg boiler," Ana giggled, pointing at a picture of a clear dome-shaped countertop appliance in the SkyMall magazine she was reading. "You can get perfect hard-boiled or soft-boiled eggs in minutes… we should totally buy one of these for Gail."

"I usually buy her and Taylor a week-long vacation in Aspen once a year, but an egg boiler is good too," Christian said humorously, and Ana laughed.

"Oh shut up," Ana giggled before closing the magazine and glancing out the window to the sunny sky. They were hours away from Seattle at this point, and the stormy gray clouds that had covered the northwest part of the country were completely gone at this point.

Ana now checked her watch. "I think we should be landing soon," she said.

Christian checked his watch too just as the flight attendant announced over the intercom that they were going to touch down in Los Angeles in about twenty minutes, and everyone needed to put on their seatbelts. Christian and Ana complied, thankful at the very least they had gotten seats in business class and didn't have to spend the whole flight sitting beside strangers in coach.

"…So do you think they did it yet?" Ana asked tentatively after a minute or so, glancing over at Christian. He shrugged.

"Possibly, although there would be no way of knowing," he said. "Once we land, I'll turn my phone back on, and in case Ros hasn't contacted me yet, I'll give her a call and find out what's been going on."

Ana nodded in agreement. Christian had turned off his BlackBerry throughout the entire flight, even though he could have powered it back on once they were in the air. He claimed he just wanted to spend the flight talking to Ana without the distraction of technology, but Ana knew him well enough to know he was just nervous to find out the truth.

The news about Christian leaving GEH had been let out by the company's PR team that morning, and Christian knew that it was going to be everywhere in the local Seattle area. Television stations, newspapers, and online news sites had all been given the inside scoop, although GEH had deliberately held off on mentioning who his successor was. Hopefully, by the end of today, it would be Ros and not Elena, and nobody in the IRS or the SEC would be any the wiser about what had actually transpired.

Ana now took Christian's hand in her own, and Christian squeezed her hand back as the plane began its descent into beautiful sunny California.

~/~

About an hour later, Christian and Ana had gotten off the plane and began making their way through the terminal toward baggage claim. Christian finally brought up the nerve to turn on his cell phone and see if Ros had called him at all.

"She may not even have called, I mean - " Christian began to say, but was cut off by his phone, which immediately began ringing in his hand. The caller ID said _Ros Bailey_.

"Something must have happened," Ana said, looking at the phone before glancing up at Christian with raised eyebrows. He looked at Ana before taking a deep breath and hitting answer, bringing the phone up to his ear:

"Hello?" he asked tentatively.

" _Christian!_ " Ros said excitedly from the other side, loud enough for Ana to hear. Christian pulled the phone away from his ear. " _I've been trying to reach you! Elena gave us the company, Christian - you were right! She caved! GEH is officially ours!_ "

It took a second or two for her words to sink in, and Christian and Ana could only stare at each other for several seconds, their eyes wide, before simultaneously letting out loud cheers of happiness. Ana immediately leapt into Christian's open arms, laughing happily, and Christian hugged her tightly as he swung her around in a circle. Other people around them were staring, but neither Christian nor Ana cared.

"I can't believe it - they did it!" Ana shouted happily, and Christian finally set her down so she could pull back and look at him, grinning widely. " _You_ did it."

Christian could only smile widely down at Ana, leaning down and pressing his lips to hers in a fervent kiss, grasping her head in his hands. He wanted to say that Ana had helped him see the evil of Elena, and helped him find the strength to break away from her and everything she had infected in his life, but he couldn't seem to find the words... so he kissed her instead.

Ana was his life now, and Elena was nothing more than an unpleasant part of his past.

"…Okay Mr. Grey," Ana pulled away from his lips after a few seconds, smiling amusedly as she placed her hands on his chest and lightly pushed him away. "Let's cut it out before we make a spectacle out of ourselves."

Christian chuckled, gazing down at Ana with love in his eyes. "I'd say it's worth it… I love you so much, Ana Steele."

"I love you too, Christian Grey," Ana said sweetly, smiling widely up at him. "I can't wait to begin our new life together."

Christian chuckled, knowing exactly how she felt. "Me neither, baby. Me neither."

~/~

Once they had grabbed their luggage from the carousel and had picked up the key for their rental car, they began their long drive out of Los Angeles toward Anaheim. As he drove along, Christian began to touch base with other people from Seattle who were involved with the Elena situation, first of all Taylor:

"Taylor, we just landed at LAX and we're heading over to Anaheim right now," Christian said in his phone as he navigated through the Los Angeles traffic. "What's going on up there?"

" _Sawyer and I spoke with Ros and she told us everything that happened with Elena,_ " Taylor explained. " _I still don't understand why you wouldn't let us accompany you to California, sir_."

"I told you - you're needed in Seattle," Christian said firmly. "Elena might try to get to me through my parents or siblings, and you and Sawyer need to make sure she doesn't do that. Ana and I are perfectly safe here by ourselves, I assure you."

" _Okay, sir,_ " Taylor said after a moment, and Christian could detect a hardness in his voice that meant he wanted to argue with him. " _How is everything down there?_ "

"So far, so good," Christian said, glancing over and smiling at Ana. She was dressed in skinny jeans and a tank top today to accommodate the warmer weather, and she had pulled her long brown hair up into a high ponytail. Her eyes were covered by large aviator sunglasses, and her beautiful face was tilted toward the open window so she was facing the wind. She was smiling happily at all the people and buildings they passed by.

Christian continued to talk to Taylor for several minutes about everything that was transpiring up in Seattle with GEH and Elena, and soon afterward called up his parents to see if they had heard the news too. Indeed they had - Grace immediately picked up the phone when he called, and she and Carrick happily conveyed how delighted they were by how everything had transpired. Both of them recounted every detail that Taylor had told them about Elena handing over GEH to Ros, and Christian couldn't help but smile as he listened to them, happy that they were so happy for him.

"…You know, I'm kind of surprised Elena hasn't tried calling you at all today yet," Ana said once Christian had finally hung up the phone. "I'd think she'd want to get in contact with you by any means necessary."

"Actually, she tried to call me a bunch of times when we were on the plane," Christian said smugly, handing his phone to Ana and showing her the 29 missed calls from Elena Lincoln. "I obviously couldn't answer, but she's probably going nuts right now."

"Serves her right," Ana said spitefully. "What do you think she's doing right now?"

"Probably pulling her hair out trying to figure out what the hell went wrong with her plan," Christian said with satisfaction. "Apparently, GEH just formally announced to the media that Ros is going to be taking over the company, so that news has been everywhere in Seattle for the past hour or so. Ros also had to send out a new email to all the employees and subsidiaries of GEH to rectify the previous email stating that Elena was the new CEO. Hopefully, she'll explain it in a way that won't raise any suspicion."

"You're not going to oversee what she's going to say to your old employees? Just in case?" Ana asked, her voice teasing, and Christian grinned.

"Nope," he said proudly. "My overbearing, control freak days are over, baby. Proud of me?"

"Very much so," Ana snickered, and she laced her fingers with Christian's on the hand that wasn't on the steering wheel, and Christian smiled brightly as he brought their hands up and kissed the back of Ana's hand sweetly.

At this moment, they simply enjoyed the open highway, the warm sunny climate of California, and just the simple pleasure of being in each other's company.

~/~

Finally, after over an hour of driving, Christian and Ana made it to Anaheim. It hardly felt that long, since the two of them had had a great time listening to the radio and laughing about what they thought Elena was doing up in Seattle at the moment.

At around three o'clock they arrived at the publishing company Porter Books, where Ana had set up a meeting with the owner Mr. Randall and few of the other employees there in order to get a better understanding of the job she was going to have. Apparently, Porter Books had a very 'business casual' environment, so she felt comfortable meeting everyone wearing the jeans and tank top she had on.

Christian now pulled up to the company's storefront, which was on a nice little side street with retail stores and pedestrians walking up and down the sidewalks. Before going inside, Ana leaned over to Christian and gave him a big kiss on the lips.

"You're picking me up at five, right?" Ana asked, pulling back slightly and looking Christian in the eye.

"Yes, ma'am," Christian said with a smile. "I'm going to go check us in at the hotel, and when you're done we can meet up and then go out for dinner."

"Sounds like a plan," Ana grinned, grabbing her purse and opening the car door, stepping out. "Alright, goodbye baby. Love you!"

"Love you too!" Christian called after her. She shut the car door behind her, but turned around one last time blow him a kiss goodbye. Chuckling, Christian pretended to catch her kiss before she turned around and headed inside.

Christian couldn't help but grin widely to himself as he drove off into Anaheim traffic and toward the hotel he and Ana were staying at.

~/~

The Montage Laguna Beach Hotel was a fabulous ocean-side luxury resort with five-star accommodations, and Christian was excited he was going to get to share this experience with Anastasia. He had stayed in Anaheim several times before on business trips, but he had never stayed at Laguna Beach before since it was more of a luxury getaway resort for families and couples. It was also a popular wedding destination, which Christian knew he would have to file away for a later date once he and Ana began exploring that option more.

Once all checked in, Christian then brought his and Ana's luggage into their room by himself. It was strange not having Taylor or some other security guy with him right now to help him with simple things like carrying luggage, but another part of him found it oddly freeing. He was still adjusting to this new life he was about to have here in California - he and Ana likely wouldn't need security details ever again, though he wasn't completely opposed to the idea of keeping Jason and Gail under his employ. He would be sure to ask them about it once he and Ana returned to Seattle in a few days.

Once Christian unpacked all their things, he grabbed a bottle of Evian from the beverage center and stepped out onto the balcony overlooking the ocean. The view was spectacular, and Christian couldn't help but smile to himself as he imagined the look of awe on Ana's face once she saw all of this.

 _Our new home._

Christian was so lost in his thoughts that he almost didn't hear his cell phone ringing from his pocket. He quickly pulled it out and glanced at the caller ID - after hesitating a moment or two, he took a deep breath before hitting answer, bringing the phone up to his ear.

"Hello?" he asked, knowing who was on the other end.

There was a pause for a moment or two. "… _Christian_?" Elena said, as if unsure if it was actually him. " _You picked up._ "

"I did," Christian said in a listless voice, still gazing out toward the ocean. "What do you want?"

" _What do I_ want?" Elena asked, her voice quickly rising in anger and revulsion. " _Are you serious right now? What I want, Christian, is to know what the hell you think you're doing with giving away your entire company like this! Have you completely lost you mind?!_ "

"I did what I had to do, Elena," Christian snapped into the phone. "I did what you didn't think I had the stones to do - and I'm the one walking away on top, so you can kindly go fuck off."

Elena cackled loudly from the other end. " _You're 'walking away on top', are you? You've lost your entire company, your employees, your livelihood, your whole damn MIND_ , _and now you're acting like you're all superior to me? Where the hell do you get off?_ "

"I'm starting a new life, Elena. A life away from you and your sick, poisonous influence over me - a life where I can be and do whatever I want without you there, pawning me off to women like I'm just a piece of meat. I'm free from _you_ , Elena, so yes - I do feel that I am walking away on top. And considering the fact that _you_ have been the one trying to call me all day, I'd say that's a fairly accurate statement."

" _You're with that girl, aren't you?_ " Elena suddenly sneered, changing tack. " _That mousy little Anastasia bitch?_ _Of course you are. You act so high and mighty, Christian Grey, and yet you can't even see you've fallen in the same trap with just another woman. You're pathetic and weak - !_ "

"Believe whatever you want," Christian snapped, overriding her firmly, and she went silent. "But quite frankly, I don't care what you think - you don't _matter_ anymore. Get it through your fucking skull that whatever you were to me in the past is completely over now. End of discussion."

" _You can't avoid me forever!_ " Elena shouted angrily, clearly starting to panic. " _I know your family, Christian - and I have connections! We run in the same social circles, and you can't stay hidden away from society forever, even if you're no longer the head of GEH. One day, you're going to realize what a huge mistake you've made, and you're going to come crawling back to me - mark my words!"_

Christian shook his head, almost wanting to laugh at her useless tactics. "What the hell makes you think I'm even still living in Seattle, Elena?" he asked calmly.

Elena didn't say anything, clearly struck dumb by that simple question. That idea had obviously never occurred to her.

"Goodbye, Mrs. Lincoln," Christian said with finality, and he hung up on her, making sure to block her number as he did so.

 _Goodbye forever._

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that! If you did, please leave a review.**

 **Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing! The song that inspired this story is Budapest by George Ezra. Make sure you listen to it on my Pinterest board.**

 **The next chapter will be the epilogue, which I'll hopefully have up by next week. Stay tuned for that, and make sure to check out my Pinterest board for this story at www dot pinterest dot com/strawpaj/the-price-of-love/**


	18. Epilogue: My Budapest

**A/N: Thank you all for your wonderful reviews and support! I hope you enjoy the epilogue to The Price of Love.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

 **Epilogue: My Budapest**

 **~2 Years Later~**

"Come here, buddy."

Christian picked his son out of his high chair, chuckling as the one-year-old babbled and kicked his little legs in protest. Teddy's chin and bib bore the remains of the spaghettios he had just eaten for dinner, but Christian had grown accustomed to his son's rather reckless eating habits. He simply hoisted his son up on his hip and brought the bib up to wipe Teddy's mouth clean, ignoring how he tried to squirm away from his father's ministrations.

"See buddy? That wasn't so bad," Christian said with a smile, finishing up cleaning Teddy's face before taking his bib off and setting it back on the high chair. "Why must you always make a mess when you eat?"

"Bababababa…" Teddy replied, trying to shove his tiny, sauce-covered fingers into Christian's mouth. Christian pretended to nibble on them, causing Teddy to laugh delightedly.

"You're so silly, Teddy Bear," Christian smiled lovingly at his little boy, removing his hand while reaching for a napkin nearby. After cleaning his son's hands and his own mouth, Christian hoisted him up higher on his hip before walking them over to the balcony in their living room overlooking Anaheim.

"…Look at that, Teddy Bear," Christian said, pointing toward the distance. From where their house stood from a hillside, they were able to see most of the city of Anaheim, and in the far distance was an amusement park with the familiar Mickey Mouse insignia upon the Ferris wheel.

"That's Disneyland, Teddy," Christian said, pointing it out for his son. Teddy lifted his tiny hand and pointed in the same direction as his father, gazing into the distance. "Can you say 'Disneyland'?"

"De de la," Teddy babbled, bringing his hand to his own mouth and giving his dad a wide, happy grin. Christian chuckled.

"Mommy and I are going to take you there next weekend, when Grandma and Grandpa come to visit us," Christian explained. "We're all going to go there together - how does that sound, Teddy Bear?"

Teddy seemed to have lost interest in whatever his dad was talking about, for his tiny face and large blue eyes were now scanning the horizon, searching for something else to look at. Christian only chuckled.

"Fine, be that way," he said amusedly, pressing a kiss to his son's chubby cheek.

"…Hey, I'm home!"

Christian turned at the sound of his wife entering the house through the front door. He grinned. "We're out here, baby."

Ana appeared around the corner, smiling brightly when she laid eyes on the two of them. Today she looked exceptionally pretty in a pale pink patterned summer dress which contrasted with her dark chestnut hair and sun-kissed skin. "Hey, you two - how are my boys doing today?"

"We're great - Teddy just had dinner, and I was showing him where we're all going with Grandma and Grandpa next weekend," Christian said, smiling down at baby Teddy in his arms. "You excited for Disneyland, bud?"

Teddy said nothing, though he brought his tiny hand to his mouth and began sucking on his two middle fingers, slobbering all over them.

"He sounds riveted," Ana giggled, setting her purse down on the nearby coffee table before walking over to take Teddy out of Christian's arms. Teddy giggled happily at now being held by his mother. "Hi, sweetie pie."

"How was work today?" Christian asked, moving toward the kitchen to fix him and his wife their dinner.

"Same old, same old," Ana sighed, toeing out of her shoes while still holding Teddy in her arms and walking barefoot into the kitchen. "Roach and I met with Seralski about his book for the third time, and we've told him - yet again - that the production of _Island Rose_ will be very limited if he wants the more expensive glossy covers. He didn't take it very well."

"Why can't he just go with the matte dustjackets? I think those look perfectly nice, and you've said they're much less expensive," Christian pointed out, plating up some of the pan-seared grilled chicken and cucumber salad he had made for their dinner.

"I know, right? It's so obvious - why couldn't you just be our client?" Ana asked with a humorous smile, and Christian chuckled.

"Sorry, baby, but I've already got a job," Christian said with a wink, bringing the two plates of food over to the breakfast counter. "Wine?"

"Not tonight - I think I'll just go with some sparkling water," Ana said, placing Teddy down in his high chair. "How were the tenants today?"

"Everything's smooth sailing," Christian said with a satisfied grin, moving to the fridge and grabbing a bottle of Perrier. "I spoke with Dietrich today about installing new air conditioning systems in the financial business park, so that's going to get done sometime this week. Also, we're thinking about buying the office park right off of Westchester."

"Oh, near Boscov's?" Ana asked, looking impressed, and Christian nodded. "That's a nice building - I'd assumed it was privately owned."

"It's currently owned by Barker Enterprises, but the lease is almost up, so I think I could convince them to sell," Christian explained. "Grey Proprietors has become extremely profitable within the last year, so acquiring new land shouldn't be too difficult. Hopefully, we'll see within the next couple weeks."

Ana smiled widely at her husband, accepting the sparkling water he handed her. "You know, two years ago when you told me you were going to be a landlord, I have to admit I didn't think it was a good idea."

"I've told you a million times - I'm not a landlord, I buy and sell investment property," Christian corrected her. "It's the same thing I did at GEH, although this is a more hands-on approach since I handle a lot of the day-to-day stuff."

"Like a landlord would do?" Ana asked with a cheeky grin.

"Watch it, woman," Christian said warningly, though he smiled, and Ana giggled, raising her hands in surrender.

"Okay, okay…"

The two of them continued to chat over dinner, talking mostly about work or about Teddy, who was sitting quite happily in his high chair playing with his favorite plastic teething rings. Ana raved about how delicious their dinner was, causing Christian to beam with pride - he had been getting more involved in cooking lately since he was spending a lot of time at home with Teddy now. He technically worked from home too, meaning he was able to be very productive as a property manager, a husband, and as a father.

He honestly couldn't imagine his life being any better than it was right now.

"Thank you for dinner, baby," Ana smiled, getting up from her seat with her empty plate in hand. She walked around the breakfast bar and pressed a kiss to her husband's lips. "It was delicious."

"It's my pleasure, baby," Christian smiled lovingly at his wife, appreciating, not for the first time, how beautiful and sexy she looked with her long chestnut brown locks and gorgeous blue eyes. To him, she looked just as beautiful as she did the day they had met three years ago, when she first walked into Canlis like an angel stepping out of heaven.

"See something you like, Mr. Grey?" Ana asked coyly, looking over her shoulder from where she stood at the kitchen sink and smiling widely. Christian couldn't help but smile back, getting up and walking over to her - he wrapped his arms around her waist, her back to his front, and he tenderly pressed his lips to the side of her head, trailing kisses down to her ear.

"Yes I do, Mrs. Grey," he said softly, and Ana sighed. "You are breathtaking, and you make me so incredibly happy. I love you, baby."

His sweet words caused Ana to turn around in his arms, gazing up at him with profound tenderness and love. Her large blue eyes glimmered slightly with emotion as she leaned up and kissed him on the lips, cupping his face sweetly with her hands. No words needed to be said.

The sound of hard plastic hitting the floor caused Christian and Ana to jump slightly before breaking apart - they looked over at their son who had just thrown his teething ring across the kitchen floor while giggling happily. The two parents couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm sorry, Teddy - Daddy and I promise to pay more attention to you," Ana said jokingly, moving over to her baby's high chair and picking him up. "Right Daddy?"

"I love you to death Teddy, but you're never going to make me stop kissing Mommy," Christian said in a stern voice, walking over to retrieve the teething ring. "Understand, little guy?"

"Mama!" Teddy babbled happily, and the two parents laughed.

"Good boy," Christian nodded.

* * *

Later that evening, Christian, Ana and Teddy settled into their nightly routine - the three of them sitting in the living room with the television on, Teddy and Ana on the floor while Teddy played with his toys, and Christian sitting on the couch, usually with his phone or laptop so he could check some emails while his wife and son played nearby. This was his favorite part of the day, where the three of them could just wind down as a family, and Christian couldn't help but smile as he watched the two of them.

"Anything serious happening with work, baby?" Ana asked Christian as she tickled a giggling Teddy's nose with a plushy rhinoceros.

"Nothing too serious… Dietrich's still looking into the square footage of the lot we want to buy," Christian said, scrolling through his inbox while shaking his head. "But other than that…"

He trailed off, frowning when his eyes landed on one particular new email he had gotten within the last hour.

"…Christian? What's wrong?" Ana asked, looking over at her husband with a frown on her face.

"Nothing, it's just…" he hesitated, still staring at the screen. "I got an email from Ros back at GEH."

Ana raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Ros?" she asked skeptically. "That's odd. When was the last time you've heard from her?"

"I don't know - I think it's been months," Christian said, still with his brow furrowed. "We last talked around Christmas, when we gifted her and Gwen that trip to Aspen."

"Well, what does she have to say?" Ana asked. Christian didn't answer immediately as he silently read what Ros had written to him. After a few seconds, Ana looked up at her husband in time to see a smile slowly start to grow on his handsome face.

"Christian? What is it?" Ana asked, looking very curious as to why Christian was smiling. He didn't elaborate, however, and instead pointed to the television, which was currently playing some cartoon show.

"Turn the TV to channel 5," he said urgently. "Hurry!"

A bit confused, Ana quickly found the remote and clicked over to channel 5, where a national news broadcast was playing:

"… _being sued by seven different women, all of whom claim Ms. Lincoln stole money from them to help her invest in her underground BDSM sex ring_ ," the anchorwoman spoke to the camera. A shot of Elena Lincoln walking down the street wearing a long coat and sunglasses while being accosted by reporters and cameramen filled the left side of the screen. " _Ms. Lincoln has reportedly stepped down from her post of CEO of Esclava Salon while she is being brought up on several charges of fraud and extortion. Candace Lane, one of the seven women suing Ms. Lincoln, identified herself in a public statement and claimed that she had been trying to expose Ms. Lincoln and her proclivities in the BDSM world for several years now._ "

"Oh my God," Ana said, sounding shocked as she stared at the television screen. She turned to look at Christian. "Is this really happening?"

"Ros just emailed me about it," Christian said, looking back to his laptop while the footage of Elena continued to show on the TV. "She said that Elena is on the national news tonight because of the story breaking out about her involvement in BDSM, namely in marketing submissives. She is so screwed."

"But won't this get tied back to you, Christian?" Ana asked, sounding extremely worried. "She was marketing those subs to _you_ , remember - investigators could easily make the connection."

"Ros said that the legal team at GEH are making sure my name doesn't get out in this, although since Elena is pleading innocence in all this, she would be extremely careful not to mention anybody involved, especially since she would risk of implicating herself. And even if my name did get out in relation to this, what's the worst that could happen? All this went down years ago, and since I'm no longer a business mogul in Seattle and I haven't been to the city in years, who's really going to care? Hell, I don't think Elena even knows that I'm living in Anaheim right now. I doubt this would get hurt us in any way, Ana."

"I hope you're right," Ana said seriously, turning back to look at the television. Footage was playing of Elena being accosted by swarms of journalists and news reporters while she tried to walk down the street. She struggled to push her way through the crowd, and though the expression on her heavily Botoxed face was difficult to read, the firm straight line of her mouth indicated her intense discomfort.

"Hmph - good riddance to that old bitch," Ana rolled her eyes in disgust. She then glanced down at Teddy playing nearby and quickly covered her mouth, grimacing. "Oops - I probably shouldn't say that in front of the baby."

Without a word, Christian set his laptop aside and got to his feet, hurrying into the kitchen.

"Christian? What are you doing?" Ana called after him, frowning in confusion.

"Well, since Elena's finally being pulled through the ringer for her crimes, and will most likely be arrested because of them..." Christian began, reappearing with a bottle of champagne clutched in his hand. He held it up for her to see. "...I think we need to celebrate."

Ana blinked at him, an unreadable expression on her face. "Oh, um… Christian, I know you're happy about all this - I am too. But is champagne really necessary?"

"Of course it is, baby. Why wouldn't it be -?" Christian began as he started to walk over to her, but paused as he was about to pass by the coffee table where Ana's purse was sitting. It was open, and Christian saw something sticking out of it that caused him to freeze in his tracks.

He set the bottle of champagne down on the table and reached into the purse just as Ana got to her feet, looking anxious.

"I was going to tell you about that after we put Teddy to bed," she explained rather feebly.

"Is this…?" Christian began, staring at the white plastic stick now clutched in his hand. He looked up at Ana, his expression stunned. "Are we…?"

"Yeah," Ana nodded, her eyes filling up with tears as she smiled. "I just found out today. I have to go to the doctor still, but I took two home tests and they were both positive…"

She didn't get a chance to finish, since Christian immediately rushed forward and hugged Ana tightly around the waist, lifting her up and spinning her around in excitement. Ana laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck as she held on tight.

"We're having another baby!" Christian exclaimed joyfully, finally setting Ana down on her feet and taking her face in his hands, pressing his forehead to hers and smiling widely. "This is fantastic news!"

"You're happy, Mr. Grey?" Ana giggled, giving him a cheeky smile as tears still welled up in her eyes.

"Oh Ana," Christian said sweetly, staring at her in her beautiful blue eyes. "Since the day I met you, you've done nothing but make me happy. You gave me a new home, a new life, a new baby boy, and now you're giving me another beautiful child. You are my everything, Ana, and I love you so much."

"I love you too Christian," Ana said, the tears in her eyes now starting to stream down her face.

Christian leaned forward and kissed her on the lips, wrapping his arms around her waist once again as Ana cupped his face in her hands. In the background, they could hear Teddy still on the floor with his toys and the television playing Elena Lincoln's whole life falling apart.

Everything was as it should be, and it was only going to get better from here on out.

THE END

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you all for sticking with my story to the very end! I know it was a little different than what most of you are used to, but I hope this conclusion was to your satisfaction.**

 **I got a short Christmas story in the works right now, so I hope to see you all soon :)**

 **Lots of love,**

 **StrawPaj**


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